Dearly Beloved
by kitsuneshadow47
Summary: It began with two hearts. Ven is the only thing Terra cares about in this world...and he'd fight for him to the very end. But how long will he be able to keep this up without losing him at the same time? "Our hearts are connected." Spinoff to Friendship.
1. Chapter 1: An Unbreakable Connection

**Dearly Beloved**

_**Chapter 1: An Unbreakable Connection**_

**Main Characters~ **Terra & Ventus/Ven

**Disclaimer~ **Don't own Kingdom Hearts in any way, shape, or form. :P

**Pairings~ **TerraxVen, a little VanitasxVen, and a bit of RikuxSora. ^w^ (There may be more. ~wO)

**Warnings~ **Yaoi/shounen-ai, telephone conversations, FLUFF, war (hints?), a bit of sci-fi and necessary OOC, tear-shedding moments, and love~

**Notes from the KIT-chan~**

Finally finished Birth by Sleep… -.-" and now my thumb is officially sore. ^^" Yet I was still able to conjure up this fic from the very bottom of my heart after fangirling TerraxVentus and how sad the ending to KH BBS was… TT_TT Hopefully Sora finds them soon -w-

But hey—after reading this, you'll "aww," you'll cry, you'll whatever. XD And mind you that this is based on er…I guess _*don't own any of these btw*_ **Dear John **(sort of), **A Walk to Remember **(kind of…), **My Sister's Keeper **(just the sci-fi…) and…no, **Silver**—it's not exactly like **"One Phone Call Away," **but sort of similar (they're not on the phone the whole time. XD). This story's also actually a spinoff to the RikuxSora fluff oneshot I wrote last year (**"Friendship"**). w And take note that the beginning takes place exactly ten years before the beginning of **"Friendship" **at the same location (including Valentine's Day, which is still not so far away from now). ^_^

So…yeah—enjoy~ =^w^=

.::.*~Kitsune~*.::.

~o~

~Outside Robin's Nest Kindergarten on a Monday Morning~

"Terra! C'mon, let's go!"

"Huh?"

At that moment, a boy about the age of seven with dark, spiky brown hair and icy blue eyes stood alone in the middle of the playground. Then he had turned after hearing his name being called and saw a short blue-haired girl with cerulean eyes staring back at him with a smile.

She had been about his age, and her name was Aqua.

The little girl giggled. "I'll race to the front door! If you lose, you have to give me your snack!"

In that instant, the brunette chuckled and closed his eyes, crossing his arms. "Hm."

Aqua stared back at him curiously, tilting her head in confusion.

But then Terra opened his eyes and began to sprint headlong for the door.

"We'll see about that!" he laughed.

At that moment, the blue-haired girl pouted and turned to run after the brunette. "Hey—no fair! You got a head start!"

Terra smirked at her over his shoulder, then began to shift his gaze forward again.

But that was when something—or _someone_—had caught his eye, and he had stopped right then and there.

At the same time, Aqua stopped behind the brunette, looking at him with questioning eyes.

"Terra, what's wrong?"

But the boy in front of her didn't move a muscle or even say a word. All that she noticed was his unwavering gaze…over in the direction of the swing set out on the other side of the playground.

And as the blue-haired girl shifted her eyes over to where her friend was staring at, she held her breath.

Out in the distance…a younger boy not older than five could be seen sitting all by himself on one of the swings.

Terra swallowed, scrutinizing his gaze on the latter.

His hair was spikier than his, and a bit wavy as well. But it was blonde, almost golden like the sun shining in the sky. And his eyes were almost breathtaking to the brunette as well, for they were almost like two pools of marvelous sapphire.

Although…the expression on the boy's face at the moment was sad and made his eyes seem dull. He was frowning, probably lonely where he was—without a friend in the world.

In an instant, Terra had begun rushing towards the younger blonde without looking back or hesitating even once.

"Wait—Terra!" Aqua cried.

But the brunette didn't stop at all—not until he began to slow down when he was only a few feet away from the blue-eyed boy. After that, he carefully approached him with a sincere expression on his face.

Suddenly, the blonde stiffened when he noticed someone quietly standing in front of him. At first, he had hesitated for a moment, a bit intimidated by the unexpected presence. But then he had brought himself to look up at his new company with shy eyes, his cheeks flushing light pink.

And soon, he had seen Terra's calm face, smiling down at him.

Almost immediately, the younger boy shrank back, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Uh…"

But then he noticed the brunette extend a hand out towards him, and he had looked up at him with innocent eyes.

The older boy chuckled. "Hey—I'm Terra."

The blonde was reluctant for a minute, then timidly took his hand and shook it.

"H-hi…"

After that, he looked up to see that the brunette was still smiling at him.

"Hm. I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new here? What's your name?"

The younger one swallowed, then spoke in a soft tone. "My name's Ventus, but you can call me Ven. …I just moved here a few days ago, so I don't know a lot of people around here."

Terra nodded once, his face sincere again. "Well, it looks like you've met someone new now, right?" He chuckled lightly. "Nice to meet you, Ven."

At that moment, the brunette turned to glance back at the school. "You won't have to worry about not having a lot of friends yet, 'cause that'll change right before you know it. Especially after you meet—"

"Hey!" a young female voice called.

Terra laughed. "Her."

Soon, Aqua came bounding over and looked down at Ventus eagerly.

The brunette closed his eyes, then pointed his thumb at the blue-haired girl. "Huh. Ven—this is Aqua. She's—"

In that instant, the latter giggled. "Hi, Ven! You're gonna love it here!"

At that moment, Ventus couldn't help but laugh a little.

Terra crossed his arms and smirked. "Hm."

Suddenly, the blue-haired girl whined. "Terra…I'm hungry…can we continue our race already?"

The brunette opened his eyes and sighed. "Fine. As you wish, your Highness—"

Aqua giggled and began running as fast as she could towards the school. "See ya, slowpokes!"

Terra shrank back. "Hey—no fair! I didn't say go!"

"You didn't the first time, either!" the blue-haired girl called over her shoulder.

The brunette growled, then began chasing after her.

"C'mon, Ven!"

With that, the blonde followed after them, laughing to himself.

~o~

That afternoon, Terra got to keep his snack because he had managed to tie with Aqua.

And at the same time, Aqua, Terra, and Ven sat together at one table in the classroom, having countless conversations and laughing altogether.

In addition, it seemed like Ventus had finally been brought out of his shell, for he had finally made some new friends.

…but even so, that would not change the blonde's past—or the fact that a boy about his age with spiky black hair and goldenrod eyes was sitting by himself on the other side of the room…glaring at the blue-haired girl and brown-haired boy that Ven was sitting with.

~o~

Finally, it was time for the children to go home, and the teacher had dismissed them all…except for Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, who still sat alone on the front doorstep.

"No one's picking you up, Ven?" the blue-haired girl asked curiously.

At that moment, the blonde's face grew solemn. "No." He winced. "Not anymore."

Aqua's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Ven closed his eyes. "Usually my mommy picks me up after school, but she died yesterday in the 'ospital." He frowned. "I don't have anyone else to take care of me because I don't have a daddy or a nanny like everybody else. I'm all by myself."

The blue-haired girl's mouth dropped with horror. "That's terrible, I—"

In that instant, Terra calmly put his hand on the blonde's shoulder.

Ven opened his eyes and looked at the brunette, who also had a solemn countenance. But then Terra slightly smiled at him. "I'm really sorry that happened to you."

At that moment, the blonde frowned.

But then he listened to the latter continue. "But that's okay—you're still not alone here on this one."

Ventus's eyes widened. "Huh?"

Terra sighed, lowering his eyes. "You see…Aqua and I don't have parents, either. We only have each other. …that's why we have Master Eraqus to take care of us back at the orphanage, where we walk home to after school."

Ven tilted his head in confusion. "Master who?"

Aqua giggled. "Master _Eraqus, _silly. He's the one who takes care of us now." She smiled. "So I guess you could say…that he's like our second daddy."

The blonde nodded slowly, his eyes somber again.

Terra looked up and thought for a moment. "Wait a minute…I think I just got an idea."

The blue-haired girl stared at the brunette with curious eyes. "What?"

The older boy put his hand to his chin. "…hm. I got it—what if we brought Ven with us to Master Eraqus? It's worth a try. I bet he wouldn't mind taking care of him, too. The more the merrier, right?"

The blonde stiffened, his eyes widening.

In that instant, Aqua's face lit up. "That's a great idea!" She nodded, then turned to face Ventus expectantly. "What do you say, Ven? Do you wanna stay with us?"

At that moment, the blonde hesitated for a minute. He really couldn't believe what was going on right now, for it all sounded too good to be true. But then he looked up at Aqua and Terra's smiling faces and realized that…this really wasn't a dream at all.

At the same time, Ventus couldn't help but feel warmth in his heart—warmth that he hadn't felt since the day before his mother got sick.

With that, his eyes softened, and the blonde beamed at his new friends.

"Sure!"

~o~

Soon, the three had gathered up their belongings and left Robin's Nest Kindergarten to go to the orphanage with grins on their faces.

But as they passed the front gates of the school, the same black-haired boy glared at them all from a location out of their sight, his blazing goldenrod eyes filled with contempt.

That was when he had felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see an elderly man standing behind him.

"All right, Vanitas. Time to go."

Vanitas paused, then bowed, closing his eyes. "Yes, Master Xehanort."

~o~

As expected, Master Eraqus had taken Ventus into his care without hesitating even once.

And from that day forth, they were all one happy family (ideally).

But years later, it had come to a point where Aqua, Terra, and Ven had grown old enough to take care of themselves, and were each, by fate, scattered to different parts of the world to live out their own dreams and successes.

However—it wouldn't be long before the three of them would meet again.

~Eleven Years Later in the State of New Jersey~

Ventus sighed, leaning back on a chair with his arms folded behind his back after another day's worth of chaos and pandemonium.

Being a doctor definitely wasn't as easy as one would usually think—and let's say they were little kids.

That day, Ven had done nothing but hard labor, performing operations on different patients and whatnot…but it was all over, now that it was the end of his shift.

Now it was time for him to relax and go home soon after he'd taken a short nap.

The blonde exhaled sharply, then closed his eyes.

That was when a voice came in on the intercom.

"Dr. Ventus?"

The latter groaned. "What is it?"

There was a pause. "You have a visitor. Should I let him in?"

At this, Ven frowned. Who would want to see him now, especially at this late hour?

Suddenly, he heard another voice outside, faint as if it were coming from the other end of the hallway.

"Come on—he's my friend—"

In that instant, Ventus stiffened. A voice all too familiar to him…

That was when the door flew open, and he found himself being embraced by a tall, muscular man with dark, spiky brown hair.

"Hey…long time no see, Ven."

At that moment, the blonde's eyes fluttered open and they widened immediately after seeing…

"Terra…" Ventus spoke softly.

The brunette smiled at him, then let go.

"C'mon—Aqua's waiting back at her apartment."

In that instant, the blonde tilted his head in confusion. "What? I—"

But before he could finish his sentence, he found himself being dragged out of the hospital and into a red SUV.

At the same time…a familiar, black-haired young man stood just outside in the hallway and narrowed his eyes at the brunette.

_Hm._

~On the road~

"Terra, where are we going? What's going on?"

The brunette chuckled, then turned to glance at his friend. "It's been so long since we've last been together like this." He paused for a moment. "Now I don't even know if you got Aqua's message a week ago, but she somehow got a hold of us on her contact list and planned a reunion for the three of us tonight."

At that moment, Ven's eyes softened. "She did…?"

Terra smirked. "Uh-huh. And she even had me fly out here this morning all the way from California, where I was _supposed _to be working on some construction site or something in Disneyland. But hey—that's Aqua for you."

The blonde nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

Soon, it was silent between the two of them.

Until finally, Terra brought himself to speak again. "So, Ven…how's your life as a doctor turning out so far? Is it treating you good?"

Ventus paused for a minute. "Well…I wouldn't say it's easy, but it's not too difficult for me, either…just tedious, I guess." He glanced at the brunette. "How about you? What's it like working outside every day in the sun?"

At this, Terra couldn't help but chuckle. "It's _hot, _of course. And I'd say doing hard labor every day isn't really a walk in the park, either…but well—it's my life. I chose this path to walk on."

In response, the blonde smiled and nodded once. "Right…"

There was a long pause again.

But that wasn't until the brunette spoke in a low voice.

"Hey…I missed you."

At that moment, Ven's eyes widened. But then they softened.

"…I missed you, too."

Terra smiled, then put his hand on the latter's head, messing up his hair a little.

"Hey!" Ventus laughed.

At the same time, the brunette began to laugh as well.

~o~

Finally, they had reached the apartment of their blue-haired friend, and Terra had pulled over near the front door.

And both of them were just about to get out of the car when all of a sudden, Aqua had opened the door and stood silently on the front step, her face rigid and her arms crossed.

The brunette chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Uh-oh—guess we're late." He slowly shook his head, then took off his seatbelt, unlocked the doors, and stepped out of the car.

Pretty soon, Ventus had begun to do the same thing, but couldn't help but see how serious Aqua's face was at that moment, which was quite rare since usually he would see her smile a little before yelling at Terra.

This time…things were a lot different.

"Hey, Aqua, sorry we're late…" the brunette had begun upon walking up the front steps.

But then he had paused when he'd noticed the blue-haired woman turn away from him. Only in that instant did he realize…that something was not right at all.

Pretty soon, Terra had seen this as well.

Then all of a sudden, it had gotten silent, and the atmosphere had changed dramatically.

That is, until Ven himself tried to ease the tension that had begun to arise.

"Aqua…" the blonde began in a hushed tone.

But the blue-haired woman didn't even bother to glance back.

Terra frowned, then took a step forward with a serious expression on his face. "All right. What's wrong?"

Aqua paused, crossing her arms.

"You tell me," she shot back icily.

At that moment, both Ventus and the brunette shrank back slightly at the acid dripping from their friend's tone.

Soon, Terra had narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Aqua exhaled sharply. "Don't act as if you don't know." With that, she turned around to glare at the brunette.

"Hm. I'm sorry, but I don't. I can't read your mind, Aqua," Terra replied unwaveringly with a blank expression on his face.

In response, the blue-haired woman frowned, clenching her fists.

At the same time, Ventus only shifted his gaze between his two friends with anxious eyes.

That was when he decided to try again, speaking in a calm tone.

"Aqua…" the blonde began, looking at the blue-haired woman. "What happened? What's going on?"

At that moment, she stiffened and briefly glanced up to see her friend's worried countenance.

And with that, Aqua closed her eyes, letting out a sigh.

"A few minutes ago, before you two finally decided to show up…two men in military uniforms came here."

The blue-haired female paused for a minute. "They told me…that they were looking for Terra, and that they needed him…for a war against some other country."

Ven's eyes widened. Then he immediately shifted his gaze towards his other friend.

But that whole time, Terra didn't move a muscle.

In that instant, Aqua opened her eyes, narrowing them at the brunette. "From what they told me earlier…it looks like Terra decided to join the army behind our backs. He's leaving us…to go fight in some stupid war, far away from here…_tomorrow._"

Ventus held his breath, then spoke in a hushed voice.

"Terra…" he began hesitantly. "Is this true? You're getting _drafted?_"

But the brunette was silent.

Aqua frowned. "Answer him, Terra. Apparently you never even bothered to tell Ven about this either." She slowly shook her head. "Keep this from your own _friends, _for crying out loud…"

Terra paused, then gradually turned to gaze into his blonde friend's ocean blue eyes, filled with concern.

With that, his own eyes softened, and he replied in a quiet tone.

"Yeah."

At that moment, Ventus's eyes bulged.

Aqua bit her lip, then put her hand to her forehead. "I can't believe any of this."

In that instant, Terra turned around, only to see that his friend had buried her face in her hands. His eyes softened, and he had begun to approach the blue-haired woman with his arms slightly outstretched in the hopes of comfort for her.

"Aqua…" the brunette spoke quietly.

But when Aqua looked up with pained eyes, she immediately turned away, her back to Terra. "Forget it."

With that, she put her hand on the doorknob, twisting it and opening the door. The blue-haired woman let out a sigh.

"Just…just leave. Right now."

At that moment, Ventus winced as soon as he'd seen the rigid expression that began to appear on the brunette's face.

Terra clenched his teeth, then came a little closer to Aqua, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Aqua—come on—I didn't mean to—"

In that instant, the latter shook the brunette's hand off. "Don't touch me."

She turned around, closing her eyes. At that point, both Ven and Terra could see tears begin to well up under their friend's eyelids.

The blue-haired woman bit her lip, then spoke in an icy tone. "I don't ever want to see you again. So get out of here already."

This immediately caused the brunette to flinch back.

"Aqua…" Ventus spoke painfully.

At that moment, Aqua desperately held back a sob, then clenched her teeth.

"Just _go away!_" she spat out acidly, shoving Terra away from her.

Ventus watched helplessly as the brunette stumbled back a little. And at the same time…he'd noticed something orange and small fall out of Terra's pocket, landing on the ground before him.

Almost immediately, it was dead silent again.

Soon, the brunette reluctantly brought himself to glance up at Aqua…only to see that her eyes were now wide and that her hand was covering her mouth. After that, Terra had also noticed that her unwavering gaze was directed at the ground, and he had looked down to see…a bright orange, star-shaped charm lying out in front of him. In that instant, he stiffened as well, holding his breath,

~xXx~

"_There you are!"_

At that moment, the young blonde and brunette sitting outside on the front step of the orphanage turned their heads to see a smiling, blue-haired girl trotting towards them. And soon, she had dropped to her knees, panting, with three tiny star-shaped charms hanging from her fingers.

Then, Aqua had beamed up at her two best friends, holding out two of the stars in her hands—an orange one and a green one.

She giggled. _"Here—I made these myself. One for you, and one for you!"_

In that instant, both Terra and Ventus each took a charm from the blue-haired girl, glancing down at them curiously.

Ven tilted his head. _"Wow…what is it?"_

At that moment, Aqua giggled again. _"They're lucky charms, silly!" _She smiled, then held hers—a shiny blue star—up in her own hands. _"They're called Wayfinders!"_

Terra pursed his lips, turning over the small gift in his hand. _"Huh. Wayfinders?"_

The blue-haired girl nodded. _"Yup!" _

The brunette paused. _"Hm. What do they do?"_

With that, both he and Ventus looked up to see that their friend was now gazing up at the evening sky.

And then Aqua had spoken in a soft voice. _"Well…I read one of Master Eraqus's books today...and I found a picture of one of them." _She chuckled lightly. _"From what it said, it seems that it represents an unbreakable connection. So as long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it, nothing can ever drive you apart. You'll always find your way back to each other. An unbreakable connection._"

At that moment, Ven scrutinized his gaze on the green Wayfinder in his hand and wondered. _"So does that mean…we'll never forget each other, even when we're all grownups?"_

At this, both Aqua and Terra couldn't help but laugh.

"_You could say that," _the blue-haired girl spoke with a grin. Then she looked back up at the sky, her eyes softening. _"…they say that this world's a lot bigger than how most people might think. But if you look at it another way—like from outer space—it's really not so big." _

In that instant, young Aqua glanced down at her two friends, slightly tightening her grip on her blue star charm. _"One day in the future…we'll all be old enough to take care of ourselves—and we'll get cool jobs and get to go to all sorts of places."_

Terra frowned. _"But we'll all be separated anyway…right?"_

The blue-haired girl closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. _"Not quite." _She paused, then held up her Wayfinder.

"_Sure…we might end up far away from one another. But if we keep these charms with us all the time…we'll always be able to find our way back to each other just like the book said, because our friendship's just that strong."_

Aqua smiled, then opened her eyes to look at the brunette. _"That means if you get lost somehow when you're a grownup, Ven and I will always be there to find you!"_

In that instant, both the blonde and the blue-haired girl laughed lightly.

And at first, Terra frowned upon hearing the idea, but after a while…he couldn't help but chuckle himself at how he'd probably _always_ have his friends with him one way or another.

~xXx~

Even at that moment, laughter echoed in the ears of Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. And with that, Aqua slowly began to back away, eyes still wide.

At the same time, Ven thought of his own Wayfinder—tucked deep in his right pocket—and he winced as the memory flashed through his mind.

Terra swallowed, then spoke carefully in a quiet tone, his gaze unwavering towards the distraught female before him. "Aqua…"

But the blue-haired woman only shook her head and stepped into the threshold of her apartment.

"Just…" she spoke softly, putting her head to her forehead again. "Just leave me alone."

With that, Aqua slammed the door shut. And as soon as she was sure that she could no longer be seen, she collapsed onto the floor, burying her head in her curled-up knees. Then Aqua reached into her own pocket, pulling out a blue star charm, and let out a sob.

"Oh, Terra…"

The blue-haired woman slowly shook her head and closed her eyes, hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

~o~

At that moment, Ventus fell to his knees, clenching his teeth and his fists with pained eyes.

"Terra…"

The brunette was silent.

The blonde closed his eyes and hung his head. "Why…" he began in a choked tone.

Ven exhaled sharply. "Why didn't you tell me?"

For a brief minute, it was silent between the two of them—until Terra finally spoke in a dull tone.

"…I didn't want you guys to worry about me so much. I thought it was for the best."

"But why are you doing all this in the first place…!" Ventus shot back, intently glaring back at his best friend. He winced, lowering his gaze. "Why…why are you taking all these risks?"

No response.

The blonde closed his eyes. "Terra…what if you get hurt out there? You know better than to leave us behind like this…and for what?" His voice faltered slightly. "…don't you _want_ us to stay together?"

He swallowed. "What about our friendship?"

The brunette stiffened at that last comment. He paused, then turned to see the expression on Ven's face, filled with both concern and melancholia.

Almost exactly like how he had looked the first time they had met when they had been children…

At that moment, Terra's eyes softened, and immediately he got up to approach the blonde with a solemn countenance.

Then when the brunette was finally standing before his best friend, he calmly placed his hand on his shoulder.

"_Ven._"

The blonde hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened his eyes to look up at the older man.

Terra paused, briefly lowering his gaze. Then he gazed into Ventus's sad, ocean blue eyes and winced.

"You and I both know that we've been best friends since kindergarten. Of course I haven't forgotten about our friendship," he spoke in a sincere tone. Then Terra swallowed. "But I have to do this. I have to help them. Suddenly, his countenance grew serious. "I'm sorry, Ven—I just can't let this one go now."

The blonde grimaced.

In that instant, the brunette frowned and began to speak quietly in a more cautious tone. "The enemy they're fighting against…is known to have infiltrated even the largest regions of this world, and they've destroyed countless cities from the inside." He tightened his grip on the blonde's shoulder. "You and Aqua have to understand…that I'm not going to just sit here and watch them step all over our home. And what's more…"

Terra paused, closing his eyes. Then he continued in a firm voice. "I'm definitely not gonna wait until the time comes where they try to hurt my own friends. What I do…I do for _friendship—_and nothing more."

After that, the brunette glanced at the younger man to see that his eyes had widened. But then Ventus frowned and looked away from him, his face even more somber.

At that moment, Terra could have sworn that he'd felt something break inside the very core of his heart after seeing this.

And then Ven winced and spoke in a hushed tone. "But Terra—I…"

The brunette's icy blue eyes grew intent in that instant.

"The three of us can never be torn apart, all right?" he abruptly cut in, briefly squeezing his friend's shoulder.

The blonde blinked, then gazed up at Terra's confident face.

The older man smiled and nodded once. "I'll _always _find a way."

In that instant, Ventus's eyes softened. At first, he knew that all that just might be impossible. But after he had seen his best friend's reassuring smile, he couldn't help but grin as well, feeling warmth again in his heart.

At the same time, the same warmth had returned to Terra's own heart as well.

He sighed, then turned to pick up the orange charm that still lay on the ground behind him.

"Before you even know it…"

The brunette paused, holding the Wayfinder up in his right hand. Then he looked at the blonde and smirked.

"…I'll already be home again," Terra spoke reassuringly.

At that moment, Ven's face lit up a little. He smiled, reaching deep into his pocket and pulling out his own lucky charm that he probably hadn't touched in years since the three of them separated. His eyes softened as they gazed upon the tiny green star in his hand.

"Huh…"

The brunette chuckled, then approached his best friend once more, holding out his Wayfinder next to where the younger man gingerly held his.

Terra grinned slightly. "Even in the deepest darkness…there will always be a light to guide you." He glanced at Ventus. "One way or another, our hearts are connected. That's why even if we'll all be far apart from each other again…we'll still be able to find our way back to one another."

The blonde shifted his gaze to look innocently into the latter's intent, icy-blue eyes.

"Hm." The brunette nodded once, then softly placed his hand under Ven's chin. "I promise you that I'll come back as soon I can." With that, he took his friend's hand and gently put it over the middle of his chest.

Ventus swallowed as he felt Terra's heart beat proudly from beneath.

Then the older man spoke again in a solemn tone. "All that I'm asking you to do…is to believe in me every step of the way. …_both _of you," he finished, briefly glancing back in the direction of Aqua's door. Terra sighed and stared longingly into the blonde's cerulean eyes.

"Ven…can I count on you to do that for me while I'm gone?"

The younger man was silent for a moment because he wasn't really all that sure on how to answer his best friend, for what was going on now was too much for his mind to actually grasp at that point.

But then he realized that the brunette's heart was still beating under his warm hand and sighed, taking the latter's hand and placing it on his cheek. The blonde closed his eyes.

"…yeah."

Terra's eyes softened. Then the older man gingerly took his best friend's face with both of his hands, caressing his cheeks.

"Thanks…" At that moment, he wrapped his arms around Ventus and held him close. "Don't worry—I'll be thinking of you and Aqua every day when I'm there."

In that instant, Ven thought he could feel something melt from the very bottom of his heart. His voice faltered. "Same here…"

The brunette chuckled.

After a while, he pulled back to place his hand on top of the blonde's head and slightly messed up his hair, glancing up at the night sky.

"It's getting late," Terra spoke with a smirk. "Guess time really does fly by so quickly."

Ventus groaned. "Aw, come on! I have to get up early again tomorrow!"

The older man laughed, shaking his head. "Wow…you've really got life harsh to be some hardcore doctor and all. Thank God I'm not good at all that medical stuff."

The blonde pouted, crossing his arms across his chest. "Hey—at least I'm actually _helping _the world somehow at this rate!"

At that moment, Terra sighed. "Persistent as always…" He slowly shook his head. "But now that I've heard this again from you, you just might understand why I quit my job as a construction worker to go join the military."

Ven's eyes widened. "What! So that means everything you told me…"

The brunette smirked, pointing a finger at his best friend. "…is all true—just that I left California few more months earlier than that." He looked at the blonde with a smug expression on his face. "Why? Thought I was gonna bring something back from Disneyland afterwards?"

Ventus shrank back. "N-no!" Then he put his hand under his chin, thinking for a minute. "Although I still haven't been to Disneyland _once _yet…"

Terra chuckled. "Huh. Don't even worry about it. The three of us will go there one day after all this is over."

The blonde grinned at the latter. But then he couldn't help but glance over at the front door of Aqua's apartment. In that instant, his countenance grew solemn.

"…it's ok. She just needs time. She'll get over it eventually," the older man whispered over Ven's shoulder. He smiled. "You of all people should know that Aqua doesn't, or never will, hold a grudge against me."

Ventus frowned, thinking about the blue-haired woman behind the door in front of them. But then he nodded once, each end of his mouth curving up. "Hm."

The brunette sighed. "Well, then…do you mind me taking you home for the night—before I leave tomorrow?"

The blonde stiffened and turned to look back at Terra, who had a smirk on his face, having already opened the front door of the SUV on the driver's side. Then he beamed at the older man and nodded. "Sure."

With that, the two got in the vehicle and drove away.

However—at a glance, the same gold-eyed brunette could be seen glaring at them from the shadows he hid in near Aqua's apartment.

And yes—this was the one…called _Vanitas._

~o~

**Notes from the KIT-chan~**

All right, so I managed to separate this all out under the request of some of my reviewers, and thanks for telling me~ ^_^ I really appreciate it.


	2. Chapter 2: A Forgotten Past

**Dearly Beloved**

_**Chapter 2: A Forgotten Past**_

**Notes from the KIT-chan~**

Not much to say but read. X"D

.::.*~Kitsune~*.::.

~o~

_(Vanitas 1st person POV)_

I was brought into the world for a reason. But I am not normal.

_I _am why _he _lives and breathes to this day.

…because I was made to support his own life—and we had both lived.

However…I did not have the same benefits as little Ventus did even after Mother had died—nor did I have any friends.

I was always looked upon as a freak—a monster—and so I was cast aside like I was nothing.

…until Master Xehanort found me and took me into his care under the promise that he would help me seek revenge on the world I hated so much.

Starting with…_him._

I growled as I watched the two of them get inside the red SUV and crept in closer so that I could finally make my move to end this.

But then I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see that Master had found me.

He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Not tonight, young one. It's too soon." The elderly man paused, then opened his eyes to smirk at me.

"…but don't worry—you _will _get your chance in due time," he spoke sinisterly, chuckling darkly.

After that, I snickered with him, nothing but thoughts of vengeance in my head at that point.

However…that didn't keep me from remembering that day.

~xXx~

I remembered it like it was yesterday, even though I was so little. It still came to me vividly in my mind.

At first, I'd heard loud beeps and blares from around me, and then I'd listened to a doctor commanding his subordinates in a firm tone.

"_Be very careful. He's not stable yet. Nurse—"_

All of a sudden, the blares grew louder and shriller—almost like a flatline.

"_No—we're losing him! Hurry, we have to act fast—"_

And that was when I'd felt pain for the first time, a flash of white light blinding me. Then I'd realized that parts of my body on the inside were being taken from me, which without a doubt explained why the hurt I'd felt was so…_excruciating._

That time, I even thought that I was going to die in the end.

…but then it stopped all of a sudden, and I had lost consciousness.

~X~

A few hours later, I woke up again to see that everything was quiet now. Then, for the first time in a while, I opened my eyes, only to be blinded again by that white light from the ceiling.

I winced, then glanced around the room to see nurses walking about, taking care of whatever business they needed to take care of, and the doctor washing his hands after taking off his gloves.

Apparently, it was all over.

I sighed, leaning back on the cot to close my eyes again.

…but that wasn't until I saw _him _for the first time in my life.

Through the glass window next to me there lay another boy about my age with short, wavy blonde hair. He was sleeping—his countenance peaceful.

That made me hold my breath for a moment, because the kid was just…_beautiful._

Although at the same time…I knew that he was the very reason for everything I'd just gone through.

And then I had begun to hate him after I learned that he'd taken everything from me.

Suddenly, the blonde stirred in the other room, then slowly opened his eyes to reveal two pools of dazzling sapphire—gazing back at me with curiosity.

~xXx~

I clenched my fists. _This is the last time I'll be generous to him. _I frowned, pulling up one of my sleeves to see that the skin on my arm was now pale—blotches of red blood scattered everywhere from the inside.

My body was deteriorating…and it was getting worse each day.

I snarled, glaring as the red SUV exited the bluebird's driveway.

Next time…I'd take everything back from him—all that was once mine. And I'd make him suffer the same pain I felt back then…ten-fold.

I smirked, then glanced back at the blue-haired female's apartment.

Starting with the ones he held so close to his heart...his _friends._

~o~

_(General 3rd person POV)_

The rest of the ride home had been filled with nothing but silence, the two not even bothering to look at each other because they were so exhausted.

Soon, they had reached Ven's apartment and both the blonde and brunette got out of the car.

"…good night," Ventus spoke in a hushed tone.

"Good night," Terra replied tiredly. He yawned.

Ven sighed and walked up the front steps. But then something made him stop before he reached his hand for the doorknob.

There was a long pause.

Then the younger man slowly turned to glance back at his best friend.

He swallowed, lowering his eyes. "Terra…do you really have to leave tomorrow?"

At that moment, the brunette chuckled, advancing towards the blonde and putting his hand on top of his wavy hair. "_Good night, _Ven."

Ventus smiled, then took the older man's hand off his head, twisting the doorknob with his other hand and opening the door.

Terra grinned back and turned to walk back towards his SUV.

The blonde laughed softly, standing in the threshold. He waved as the brunette drove away until the red vehicle finally disappeared from sight.

After that, Ven couldn't help but frown and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

His face grew sad. Starting tomorrow…he wouldn't see his best friend for a long time.

He hung his head, then reached into his pocket to pull out his green Wayfinder and raised his head to look at the wall clock on the other side of the room.

11:59 P.M.

~o~

For some time in the weeks following that very night, the three hadn't seen or heard from one another ever since. It was as if their paths had diverged once more.

That is…until one morning.

~o~

_Ring._

_RING._

"Dr. Ventus?" a voice spoke over the intercom.

The blonde exhaled sharply, taking off his stethoscope. "Yes?"

"…you have a call," the voice replied hesitantly. There was a short pause. "Are your hands full or are you willing to take this one into consideration?"

Ven closed his eyes, scratching the back of his head. _At __**3:00 **__in the morning, for crying out loud…_

He sighed. "I got this. I'll be right there in a minute." The blonde put down his stethoscope and took off his gloves, then walked out into the hallway to pick up the phone downstairs.

~o~

.

.

Sigh. "Dr. Ventus. How can I help—"

There was a snicker on the other line. _"Wow, Ven—I didn't know you could sound that formal at work."_

In that instant, the blonde's eyes widened, and he held his breath. _That voice…_

"No way…Terra? Is that really you?"

"_Of course it's me, smart one. Who else would call you at work at uh…oh—haha. 3 in the morning over there? Wow…"_

Ven grinned smugly. "Uh-huh, yeah. I guess I could name a _few…"_ he replied sarcastically.

Chuckle. _"Sorry about that—I almost forgot we're in different time zones now."_

The younger man nodded once. _"A likely story."_

The brunette smirked on the other line.

.

.

"Haha," Ventus laughed lightly, scratching the back of his head. But then he was silent, his eyes softening.

"…so, Terra…"

"…"

"…how do you get this hospital's number?"

There was a pause, then a slight chuckle. _"Told you I'd always find a way."_

"Huh. Figures…"

.

.

"…if it's like that, then have you talked to Aqua yet?"

"_Actually…she was the one who called me."_

The blonde's eyes widened. "Really? How did it go?"

There was a sigh on the other line. _"Well, she's still mad at me—that's for sure." _Pause. _"…but she's lightening up a little at the same time, asking me if I'm ok here and all."_

Ven nodded. "At least she's talking to you now."

"_Yeah."_

_._

_._

"…_so how's work been for you so far? Scratch the fact that today hasn't even started for you."_

"Very funny," the blonde replied with a smirk. Then he took a deep breath, putting a hand to his forehead.

"…it's been ok—a little typical and tiring at times—but…yeah. It's all good."

"_Huh…that's good."_

.

.

"So…how's life over there? Blew up any bad guys so far?"

Snicker. _"You're hilarious, Ven—you know that?" _Pause. _"…everything's fine here. Since we first got here, we haven't really done anything much but prepare for whatever situations the enemy might drag us into. Recently, we haven't had any attacks or ambushes from them yet but we're still on our guard for the worst case. You could say it's like a game of Battleship over here."_

"Be careful."

"_You, too—God knows how many needles you're working with over there."_

"Hey—that's not all I do every day, you know."

Chuckle.

.

.

"…Terra?"

"…_yeah, Ven?"_

"…I miss you already."

"_Hey—stay strong for me, okay? Hang in there—I'll back before you know it. I miss you, too—don't get me wrong."_

Silence.

"…_and take care of Aqua for me every chance you get."_

Ventus sighed. "All right."

Suddenly, there was a shrill whistle on the other line. Then there was a sharp exhale.

"_Aw, not again… Sorry, Ven—I gotta go."_

At the same time, the blonde heard footsteps from behind him and glanced back to see one of the nurses walking towards him with a clipboard in hand.

"…that's ok—I gotta go, too."

"_I'll call you again as soon as I can, all right?"_

"Okay…"

"_Bye."_

"Bye."

_Click._

Click.

~o~

The rest of the day seemed empty without Terra's voice. At the same time, Ventus had considered trying to contact Aqua but had no luck anyway.

After all, she might have obviously been busy as well, since she was a big-time actress.

But then again it wasn't long before the phone began to ring once more—before quitting time.

"Hello?"

~o~

As expected from the brunette, his phone calls became more and more frequent—almost greeting his blonde friend after every hour. And yes—Ven liked this as well, since it was almost like Terra was there with him in the same place, cheering him up when he was exhausted.

However…it was only a matter of time before the enemy had finally made its first move, and the older man's phone calls started to become less often until they were rare—one in every six months.

~o~

.

.

"…_I'll talk to you soon, okay?"_

"All right—bye."

_Click._

Click.

~o~

Finally, it had come to a point where Terra had stopped calling Ventus, and every time Ven would try to contact the brunette, he wouldn't be able to pick up.

And so, the two had become quite distant from each other, too occupied with their labors and worries in life.

But later on…worse had grown to worst on a fateful evening.

~o~

Pant.

Pant.

"_Doctor!" _a nurse cried. _"Somebody help me here!"_

Gulp.

"_Help!"_

…_what's happening to me? _the blonde thought to himself. _Why do I feel so…_

A cry of pain. _My chest…I can't breathe—it hurts…_

Thud.

"_Dr. Ventus!"_

~o~

"Ventus?"

The blonde stirred. Then he slowly opened his eyes to see a tall, elderly man with a long beard and a pointed nose staring back at him from his bedside with a serious expression on his face.

Ven groaned. "Master Yen Sid?" At that moment, he could hear beeping and noticed that he was in the emergency room. "What happened to me?"

Silence.

The blonde hesitated for a minute, then shifted his gaze to see that the latter had closed his eyes, his face even more solemn.

"I cannot say," Yen Sid replied in a dull tone. He paused to look at Ventus and sighed. "I have known you, young one, since the day you were born, and you had inherited the same terminal illness your mother had died of. Up to this point, I am not as certain as I was once before…" He closed his eyes again. "…but from how it looks, it seems that your heart has begun to fail again."

In that instant, Ven stiffened, and his eyes widened ten-fold. "Wh…what?"

The elderly man slowly shook his head.

The blonde held his breath, then looked away. He swallowed. "It can't be…"

~xXx~

"_Mommy!"_

~xXx~

Ventus clenched his fists. "How? How could this happen?"

Yen Sid frowned. "Not I even I can figure out the answer." He glanced at Ven. "All I can say in this matter…is that we only need to wait."

The blonde tilted his head. "Wait? What do you mean by that?"

The elderly man pursed his lips. "Based on the tests that we've conducted while you were unconscious…it's not the same as when you were hospitalized as a child. In fact, it looks as if the illness…has reached its final stage." There was a long pause. "It is only a matter of time before fate takes its hold…and the rest of your body will begin to fail along with your heart."

Ven's eyes widened. "Uh…" he uttered softly.

Yen Sid's face became somber. "I am sorry, dear Ventus. But there is nothing more I can do now to stop the disease." He looked at the latter. "As the owner of this hospital and a friend of your mother, all that I am capable of is letting you take the rest of the week off and prescribe you with pills to ease the physical pain you might feel later on. We will do as much as we can to help you through all this—up to the very end."

At that moment, the blonde's face grew somber, and he hung his head.

The elderly man's eyes softened. Then he took the latter's hand. "Please…do not spend so much time worrying about all that is happening. There is absolutely no one in the world to blame for these recent occurrences. It is merely…life as we know it."

Ventus sighed and looked up at Yen Sid. "So are you saying…that my life's shorter than everyone else's?"

The bearded man chuckled, then spoke in a softer tone. "No…it is just that every human being on this Earth…will have his or her own time to live. That is the fact of _life_." He smiled slightly.

Ven managed to crack a small grin as well, but then his face became solemn again.

Yen Sid placed his hand on the younger one's back, supporting him. "I'll let you go home to rest for the time being, but I implore you…don't overstress your body too much."

"Hm," the blonde uttered quietly.

After that, he raised his head to glance out the window to see the sun setting in the distant horizon.

~o~

There actually weren't that many people outside—probably because the day was almost over. Obviously the majority of them had either gone home or had still been at work, waiting for quitting time.

Out in the distance, a sad Ventus could be seen slumping along the sidewalk, his head hanging and fists stuffed in his pockets.

At the same time, the blonde's eyes were filled with absolutely nothing but pure melancholia.

He let out a sigh, as he passed Robin's Nest Kindergarten, then closed his eyes for a moment.

…_how am I gonna tell the others—to Terra and Aqua?_

Ven bit his lip, thinking of the possible reactions his two friends would give him: Aqua's horrified, wide eyes…and the pained look Terra would have on his face.

Speaking of Terra…what would he say—or _do, _at the very least? Especially now that he was on some other part of the country…

Ventus's face became rigid. _He told me to stay strong… _He stopped in his tracks. _…but how can I, when all this is happening? I may as well have failed him…_

The blonde let out another sigh, then slowly opened his eyes and raised his head to see a vast, sandy shore out in front of him, the bright orange sun beginning to disappear below (behind?) a majestic, cerulean ocean.

He paused, looking around to see that not a soul was there, which actually drew out a calm and peaceful atmosphere among his surroundings.

~o~

Meanwhile, at the same time, a mysterious-looking man with a scarred face and a black patch covering his right eye was watching quietly from a safe distance away from Ven himself.

He chuckled darkly from the hidden location he was in at the moment, then pulled out a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a certain number.

.

.

Ring.

.

Ring.

.

.

_Click._

"_Ah."_

In that instant, the man smiled wryly. "All clear, boss. He's not in the hospital anymore. You're free to do whatever you please now."

There was a pause on the other line. _"Excellent. All according to plan…and so we begin, _Braig._"_

With that, both laughed sinisterly from the shadows.

~o~

**Notes from the KIT-chan~**

Makes you wonder what'll happen next… O_O

.:;.*~Kitsune~*.::.


	3. Chapter 3: Wayfinders

**Dearly Beloved**

_**Chapter 3: Wayfinders**_

~o~

_Looks like everybody's gone home, _Aqua thought to herself as she walked through the streets after getting off the bus. Soon, she had come to a halt when she had come across the hospital she knew her friend worked in and made his living.

But before the blue-haired woman stepped forward so that the automatic doors would open, she hesitated for a moment and frowned, hanging her head.

_I've missed…so many calls from them that I don't even know how to start now. My schedule's been tight for the past few weeks, so I haven't been able to call either of them back even once._

Aqua sighed, then looked back at the doors of the hospital. _But since I'm free for now, I guess it'd be best to just make it all up here. Ven should probably understand when I talk to him in person, although he might have been a little worried about me since he hasn't heard anything from me in a while…ever since that night._

She paused, then stepped forward into the front lobby.

~o~

At that moment, the lobby had been vacant as well—all but three nurses who stayed at the front desk.

Aqua looked around, then approached the nurse that sat in the very middle.

"How may I help you?" the woman asked with a kind smile.

The blue-haired female nodded. "Right. I was wondering…is Dr. Ventus in today?"

There was a brief pause. Then the nurse spoke again, her tone unwavering. "Do you have an appointment with him soon?"

Aqua slowly shook her head. "No. Actually…I'm a friend of his."

"Ah—Aqua."

In that instant, the blue-haired woman turned around to see a tall, elderly man with a long beard and pointed nose approach the front desk.

"Oh—Master Yen Sid," she spoke, bowing her head. "It's good to see you again after all these years." Aqua looked up at the owner of the hospital. "Do you, by any chance, know if Ven is still here right now?"

It was silent for a minute.

Then Yen Sid spoke in a solemn tone. "Ventus...had to leave work early today." He paused and frowned. "You see, I sent him home myself…after he had collapsed earlier in the operating room."

At that moment, Aqua's eyes widened. "What?"

The elderly man's face was somber.

Immediately, the blue-haired woman's countenance grew serious. "What happened? Please—tell me, Master Yen Sid…"

At the same time, a mental picture had flashed through her mind. Of a six-year-old Ven lying in a hospital bed. Earlier _that _day, the little blonde had fallen unconscious just outside of Master Eraqus's orphanage while he was in the middle of playing a game of tag with his two best friends…

~xXx~

Laughter.

"_Can't catch me, Ven!"_

Thud.

"_Ven…Ven!"_

"_Ven, wake up!"_

"_Is he all right?"_

"_He's not breathing…"_

"_Master! Come quick!"_

~xXx~

Aqua gazed back at Yen Sid with intent eyes. "…is it…the same as before?"

But the latter was quiet and put his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes.

~o~

Later that afternoon, Ventus had decided to sit down by a large rock just in front of the shoreline. He let out a sigh, gazing up at the crimson sky, purplish-blue clouds scattered across it.

…_what am I gonna do?_

The blonde frowned. He took a small pebble from the gravel beside him and tossed across the ocean's surface.

But then all of a sudden, Ven had heard a small sigh after that—and he knew for a fact that this one had definitely come from him.

He stiffened and immediately looked to his left…only to see a little brown-haired boy with a slightly tan complexion and eyes bluer than the waters before him.

The young one was sitting by the rock as well with his knees curled up—only a few feet away from the blonde. He was staring longingly at his reflection in the ocean with a sad expression on his face.

For some reason, this had even made Ventus's heart soften because somehow…he had reminded him of himself when he was younger.

He closed his eyes, then got up to sit next to the brunette.

"Hey…" the older one began in a light, casual tone—the very same one that he normally used in the times where he'd take care of young boys and girls in the children's ward.

At that moment, the little boy looked up from the water and turned to gaze at his new company.

Ven smiled warmly. "You look kind of upset there." He glanced at the latter, then calmly held his hand out to him. "My name's Ventus, but you can call me Ven."

At first, the small brunette seemed a bit intimidated, but then he shyly took the blonde's hand.

Ventus chuckled softly, looking into pools of sapphire. "What's your name?"

In that instant, the brown-haired boy slowly let go of the older one's hand.

"…Sora," he replied timidly, lowering his eyes.

Soon, Ven noticed that the younger one had returned to staring back at his reflection in the ocean—sinking deep into thought. At this, he shifted his gaze slightly as well, glancing to see the toddler's somber countenance. Then he spoke again in a hushed tone.

"Well then, Sora…what seems to be bothering you?"

Silence.

Then Sora brought himself to reply in a small voice. "It's nothing…just that—" He paused briefly, and his eyes grew dull. "You see…I have this friend."

Ventus listened patiently.

The young brunette closed his eyes. "A friend…who I really care about and who stays around most of the time to play with me so I don't feel so lonely."

Another moment of silence.

The toddler continued in a quiet voice. "He's probably the bestest friend I ever had, and…Valentine's Day is coming up in a few weeks." He slowly shook his head. "I wanna get him something good when that day comes, because he's my _best_ fwiend."

At this, the blonde's eyes softened. _Just like how it was with Terra and me…_

"That sounds very nice of you. What do you plan on giving him?"

Sora paused. "The problem here is…I don't really know." He opened his eyes to gaze innocently at the older one. "…can you help me—Ven?"

At that moment, Ven frowned, contemplating for a minute. "Hm. Well, that might actually bea problem." He put his hand under his chin and thought. "Huh…do you happen to know what he likes?"

The young brunette winced and began scratching the back of his head, brainstorming as well. "Gee—Riku likes a whole bunch of stuff." He paused and looked up at Ventus. "But I don't really know where to start because want my gift to be special…something he's never seen before…"

That was when something green and star-shaped caught the toddler's eye, and all of a sudden, his mouth dropped in open in awe. Immediately, he pointed a finger at the tiny charm half-visible from the older one's pocket.

"Whoa! What's that?" Sora exclaimed in wonder, still gesturing towards the shiny object.

In that instant, the blonde glanced down in the direction where the latter was pointing at and realized that he was staring at his Wayfinder, which had somehow slightly slipped out of his pocket.

With that, Ven chuckled, then carefully took out the star charm, holding it gingerly in his hands.

At the same time, the small brunette crawled closer to him to get a better look. "It's so shiny…"

Ventus smiled. "It's called a Wayfinder. A friend of mine gave it to me a long time ago." He raised his head to gaze at the sinking sun in the distance, his eyes softening. "When she first gave it to me that time…she said it was supposed to represent an unbreakable connection between you and your friends_—_as long as you carry it with you, nothing can ever drive you apart because you'll always find your way back to each other."

At that moment, he looked at Sora and calmly placed the keepsake on the other's palms.

The toddler cooed, scrutinizing his gaze. "Wow…that's so cool…"

The blonde grinned.

After a while, the young brunette looked up with a curious countenance and beamed at him. "I wanna make something like this for Riku, too! He'd definitely like this as a present, 'specially 'cause he's never seen it before! _And _he likes shiny stuff!" He paused for a minute. "…could you teach me how?"

In response, the grin on Ventus's face faded away. He shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, little guy—but I actually don't know how. My friend was the one who made it, not me. But if I did, of course I'd have no problem helping you there."

In that instant, Sora frowned and he hung his head. "Aww…"

Ven's eyes softened. He sighed, then put his hand on top of the younger one's shoulder. "Hey…"

The toddler glanced over to see the latter's comforting smile.

The blonde spoke in a hushed tone. "It's really the thought of giving the present that counts—not how big or beautiful it might be." With that, he turned to face the sunset once more. "If the two of you really are best friends, then that means both your hearts are connected to each other. He'll like your gift no matter what because it'll show just how much you care for him."

He chuckled softly, frowning a little. "My best friend and I used to have the same connection back then…" His face grew sad.

The small brunette frowned as well, tilting his head. "Ven…what's wrong?"

At this, the older one closed his eyes and hung his head.

Sora moved closer to him, pools of sapphire filled with concern and innocence. He put his hand on top of his. "I wanna help you, too."

At that moment, Ventus opened his eyes and glanced at the toddler. And after that…he couldn't help but smile at the latter's words. But then he let out a sigh and looked away.

It was silent for a minute.

The blonde winced. "I have…a best friend, too. But he's somewhere far away right now, and I don't know if—" he broke off mid-sentence, his voice faltering. "If I'll see him again…"

The younger one's eyes softened. "Why?"

Ven exhaled sharply. "The thing is…we haven't or heard from each other in a long time." He bit his lip. "But I care about him…just as much as you care about your friend…yet I don't have a _clue_ on whether he's okay or not. Most importantly, I—"

The older one felt the latter squeeze his hand slightly.

He slowly shook his head. "…I haven't told him…how I really feel. And I wouldn't know where to begin…even if I tried."

Suddenly, there was a long pause.

Until finally, Sora spoke in a soft voice.

"…just tell him straight out that you care about him."

At that moment, Ventus's eyes widened. "Huh?"

That was when the two looked directly at each other, blue locked on blue.

The brunette lowered his gaze. "I mean…you two are best friends, right?" he continued timidly.

Then he glanced down at the green Wayfinder in his hands and paused. "If it's like that, he should be able to understand you, too, just _because _he's your fwiend. What if he felt the same thing?" The toddler looked up at the blonde.

"You told me that my heart is connected to Riku's…so isn't your heart connected to his?"

In that instant, the older one froze—surprised by what he'd just heard. Then after a while…he smiled warmly at the young boy and put his hand on top of the other's head.

"Yeah…you're right, Sora. Thanks."

The tan boy giggled. "Hey!"

Ven smirked and chuckled. "…and you know what else?"

The little one stopped, his face now eager. "What?"

Ventus's eyes softened. "Your heart's connected to mine now, too." With that, he took the latter's hand and placed it over the middle of his chest. "Because—you helped me, which makes you my friend as well."

"Oh…" the brunette uttered quietly with a small smile.

Both gazed fervently into each other's eyes.

And with that…something had clicked inside the toddler's mind at that very moment.

"Hey…" Sora began in a hushed tone, looking down at the star charm. Then he beamed up at the blonde and giggled. "I think…I think I just got an idea!"

"_Sora!"_

Almost immediately, the toddler whirled around to see a silver-haired boy with sea green eyes waving in the distance and calling his name.

The brunette smiled, waving back at him. "Riku!"

At that moment, the blonde turned and saw that the boy was a bit taller than the brunette and perhaps a little older as well. He chuckled softly. _So this is his friend…_

That was when he'd heard the silver call Sora again. _"C'mon! I'm done with my homework and everything! Let's get some ice cream already before they close up!"_

In response, the younger one laughed lightly, putting his hands behind his head. "Okay!" With that, he began to run after his best friend—but then stopped all of a sudden when he realized that he was still holding a green Wayfinder.

The tan boy paused, then turned to face Ven and returned the keepsake to him.

"Thanks a bunch for helping me," the little brunette spoke kindly, smiling at the blonde. "Even though I won't be able to make something this beautiful, I can probably get my other friend Kairi to help me out." He giggled. "And I know that Riku'll always remember me after I give him his present on Valentine's Day."

Ventus's heart softened. "Of course. You never forget your true friends after all. That's why you'll always be together forever…in _here._" He pointed at Sora's heart.

The toddler let out a small sigh and closed his eyes. Then he spoke again, looking into the latter's eyes. "As for you and your fwiend…"

He beamed at him. "I know you'll see each other again someday!"

The blonde chuckled. "You really think so?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah!"

At that moment, the older one's heart grew light at the innocence in the other's cerulean eyes, and he calmly put his hand on the latter's head.

"…thanks, little guy. I'll count on that."

The young brunette giggled.

"_Sora!" _

In that instant, the tan boy sighed. "I'm coming! I'm coming!"

With that, he began to trot away to meet up with his silver-haired friend.

"Goodbye, Ven!" Sora cried, briefly glancing over his shoulder.

The blonde smiled, waving his hand, and replied in a hushed tone. "Till we meet again…Sora."

He watched as the toddler scrambled across the sandy shore until he finally met up with the one he called Riku.

The silver crossed his arms and smirked. _"Sora, what took you so long?"_

The younger one pouted at his best friend. _"I was only saying goodbye to my new friend…"_

At that moment, Riku curiously glanced back at Ventus, still standing by the shoreline in the distance.

After a while, Sora looked back as well and waved at the blonde. Then the two started talking again and left the beach.

When the pair of children had finally disappeared from sight, Ven let out a sigh and looked down at his Wayfinder, picturing a younger version of himself and Terra in Sora and Riku. Then he held the star charm close to his bosom and closed his eyes.

_Maybe…maybe it's time._

~o~

Aqua's eyes were full of worry as she made her way down the sidewalk, in the direction towards the apartment she knew her blond friend resided in.

But at the same time, confusion riddled her mind—especially after her earlier conversation with Master Yen Sid.

"_His heart is weaker now than it was before. I'm afraid the boy won't have much time left."_

The blue-haired female closed her eyes.

"_All that we can do now is give him our utmost attention and care…up until the very end."_

She clenched her teeth.

"_I am sorry, my dear."_

At that moment, Aqua bit her lip in frustration. _Ven…_

That was when she opened her eyes and found herself standing right in front of her best friend's home.

_I'll do whatever it takes…to help you through the darkness. Both you and Terra, even though I don't know where he is._

~o~

Later that evening, Ventus had found himself standing by a local pay phone. He placed a quarter into the given slot and began dialing a certain number from a small scrap of paper in his pocket.

Ring.

.

.

Ring.

.

.

_Click._

"_Hello?"_

In that instant, the blonde held his breath, his heart almost skipping a beat.

"Terra?"

"_Yeah. Oh—Ven. Good to hear your voice again."_

Ventus chuckled softly, then frowned, his eyes sad. "…are you busy?"

There was a pause. _"…sort of. Right now, my squadron and I are pretty much temporarily stationed here since we're backup and all. So we're actually waiting for our commander to give us our next orders and stuff." _He took a deep breath. _"Wow…I sound really formal here, don't I?" _There was a brief chuckle on the other line. _"But…yeah—sorry I haven't been able to contact you or Aqua in a long time. Everything's been hell back and forth since then."_

"…"

.

.

"…_but hey—what's up? Is everything okay?"_

At that moment, the blonde was silent.

"_Ven…you there?"_

"Yeah," Ventus replied dully. "I'm here."

Another long pause.

.

"Terra…" the younger man began in a hushed tone.

"_Yeah?"_

The blue-eyed male exhaled sharply, then glanced down at the green charm in his other hand.

"Do you still have…that lucky charm Aqua made for you when we were kids?"

Silence.

Then a faint jingling sound could be heard on the other line.

"_I do. Why?"_

Ven closed his eyes, his breath wavering. "Terra?"

"_Ah."_

In that very instant, Ventus's voice faltered. "We're…we're best friends, right?"

Pause.

.

.

"_All right. What's wrong?"_

Silence.

"_Ven…I know you can hear me."_

At that moment, a lump had begun to form in the blonde's throat, which made it a lot harder for him to speak.

"I…"

That last one came out in a choked whisper.

At the same time, Sora's words began to ring through his ears.

_Just tell him straight out that you care about him._

Ventus swallowed and spoke in a louder tone. "Terra—I…"

Suddenly, the sound of a distant explosion could be heard on the other line.

"_Shoot."_

Terra could just barely be heard above all the noise, what with other men running around and shouting orders.

Immediately, the blonde's face went rigid. "Terra? What's going on?"

Growl. _"Uh-oh. Looks like they've discovered us."_

More yelling could be heard, and then some gunshots.

There was a sigh on the other line. Then he spoke quickly.

"_I'm sorry, Ven, but we're going to have to continue this later. I promise this time I'll call back as soon as I can, okay?"_

Ventus frowned, his countenance now somber. "…okay."

_Be careful, _he thought to himself.

The brunette exhaled sharply. _"Bye."_

_Click._

.

.

"…bye," the blue-eyed male spoke uselessly into the receiver, knowing that he'd only hear the dial tone.

He bit his lip, then hung up, his head drooping.

_When will next time be?_

Finally, after a while, the blonde looked out into the distance to see that the last of the sun had finally disappeared into night.

_It's late. I should probably go home now._

~o~

Aqua knocked on the door.

"Ven? It's Aqua. Are you there?"

No response.

Soon, the blue-haired woman sighed and shrugged. _Hopefully he's just napping or something…_

Then she grabbed the doorknob and twisted it, surprised to see the door swing open right then and there.

In that instant, Aqua knew, or had the slightest _feeling _that something was off.

She frowned, then carefully stepped into the room, only to find it vacant.

…or so she thought.

"Ven?" the blue-haired female called, peering into the darkness. "Ven, are you—"

Suddenly, the door closed behind her, and Aqua had felt a sharp tinge of pain at the back of her head.

"Oh!"

She let out a low cry, then collapsed to the floor, her mind drifting away.

But before passing out, the actress thought she could see a two shadowy but blurred figures hovering over her.

And one had chuckled darkly.

"Now all we need to do…is wait for _him._"

~o~

After a while, Aqua had regained consciousness again, only to find herself bound to a chair, her hands tied behind her back.

And then she had seen a raven-haired young man with sinister gold eyes. He was smirking down at her.

The blue-haired female growled, glaring at the latter. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The raven scoffed. "Huh. I'm just someone who has a score to settle with the blondie who owns this place—a.k.a. your _friend_," he sneered.

Aqua clenched her teeth. "Why? What did he ever do to you? Ven's not the type to do anything bad."

Vanitas chortled mockingly. "Oh, really?"

Suddenly, his face grew serious, and he looked at the other dangerously. "Then see for yourself."

He knelt down, pulling his sleeve up…to reveal his arm, all red and covered in blotches from internal bleeding.

The blue-haired female gasped and shrank back.

The raven smiled wryly. "My body is deteriorating, just as you see now before your very eyes." He looked into her eyes. "Listen, bluebird—I'm the _only _reason why your friend lives and breathes to this day. He's the _very _reason why I'm falling apart over here."

In an instant, he grabbed both of her cheeks with one hand and frowned. "Ventus has taken _everything _from me, and after all these years…I'm gonna make him suffer just as I did." Vanitas pushed Aqua away and snapped his fingers, chuckling evilly.

"And it all starts here…with _you._"

From out of the blue, Braig came out of the shadows, blindfolding her.

"Let me go!" Aqua cried.

Soon, everything went black.

~o~


	4. Chapter 4: Broken Hearts, Chain of Mmrs

**Dearly Beloved**

_**Chapter 4: Broken Hearts, Chain of Memories**_

~o~

_I love you._

Those three words kept repeating in Ventus's mind over and over again.

So why couldn't he actually tell his own best friend that when it came down to it?

The blonde let out a sigh, hanging his head.

…but that was when he came across a familiar building and looked up to see that it was indeed...the orphanage he and his friends had once lived in under the care of their beloved Master Eraqus, now deceased.

At that moment, childhood memories began to flash through Ven's mind—every single one with Terra and Aqua.

And then…there was one in particular that had hit a cord in his heart as he walked past his former home.

"_What are you gonna do when you grow up, Terra?"_

~xXx~

A young brunette and blonde could be seen sitting on the doorstep of the orphanage again, on a different evening this time—Wayfinders in each pair of hands.

Little Ventus giggled, holding up his green star.

Terra closed his eyes, then smiled sincerely. _"Hm."_

He thought for a moment and soon looked down at his orange keepsake.

Then the older boy spoke unwaveringly. _"You know…I'm not really sure yet. But if I look at the obvious…I'm probably gonna end up building houses or paving roads—something like that."_

Ven chuckled at his best friend. _"Huh—I can actually picture you doing that kind of job."_

The brunette sighed. _"Ah."_ He glanced at the blonde. _"Although somewhere along the way…I think I might consider something else—something more important."_

At that moment, the blue-eyed child tilted his head in confusion. _"But Terra—building houses is already important for people like us to live in. And where else are they gonna drive cars?"_ He paused for a minute, scratching his head. _"What could be more important than that?"_

Terra was silent. Then after a while, he turned to face the blonde and put his hand on top of the other's head, slightly messing up his hair.

"_You. You're more important to me than _anything_."_

"_Hey!"_ Ven giggled under the latter's hand. But then he actually caught on to the brunette's words, and his eyes widened in an instant.

"_Wait…_me?_"_

The older boy nodded. _"Uh-huh. Both you and Aqua—because you two are my best friends, and you're all I have."_

At that moment, young Ventus's eyes softened. _"Aw, Terra…"_

In response, Terra chuckled and shifted his gaze over to where the sun could be seen sinking in the distant horizon, the sky all orangey pink.

"_That's why one day, when I think I'm old enough…I'll find a way to do something that'll keep you both safe from harm."_

~xXx~

The brunette's last few words from back then still rang through the blonde's ears even now.

"_No matter what it takes, since I couldn't stand to lose either of you."_

Ven looked down at his green star charm and winced as he continued to make his way home.

_Terra…Aqua…_

He bit his lip, stopping in his tracks, and stood still for a moment.

_I'm sorry._

With that, the blonde exhaled sharply, then slowly raised his head to see that he had now reached the front steps of his apartment.

He frowned, then took his keys out of his pocket and reached for the doorknob.

However, Ventus was surprised to see that the door was unlocked and opened with ease.

But the lights were off just as he had left it—although he could have sworn he _locked _the door before going to the hospital earlier that morning.

Ven shrugged and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Then he turned to flick the lights on.

However, when he absent-mindedly shifted his gaze towards the other side of the room, his eyes widened immediately upon seeing a blindfolded young female with short blue hair lying unconscious on the floor. And her arms and legs were bound with rope.

In an instant, the blonde recognized her and was soon at his friend's side, taking the blindfold off and untying her.

"Aqua…!" Ven cried anxiously, trying to wake the actress up at the same time.

After a while, the blue-haired woman stirred. "Ven…" she uttered weakly.

"Aqua!" the young doctor cried again.

The actress groaned, then slowly shook her head. "You shouldn't have come here. It's a trap—he wants to hurt you." Soon, she had regained full consciousness, her voice stronger.

And with that, the bluebird firmly took the other's shoulders, her eyes intent. "You've got…you've got to get out of here!"

Ventus's eyes widened. "What?"

But before she could answer him, Braig had already appeared again, grabbing her by her wrists and pulling her away.

"No!" the blonde shouted, reaching his hand out towards his friend.

That was when all of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain at the side of his neck and everything began to fade away.

Aqua's cries soon grew faint.

"Ven!"

~o~

"Uhh…"

Ven groaned and stirred, slowly opening his eyes…and finding himself being held bound by a man with a scarred face and black patch over his right eye.

Braig chortled tauntingly. "_Well_…look who's awake."

The blonde clenched his teeth and growled, wriggling in the latter's grasp. "Shut up! Let go of me!"

"Easy, Braig," a voice spoke from the shadows before them.

Ventus stiffened when he'd seen a spiky-haired raven with gold eyes emerge partially from the darkness, just enough to reveal his face.

"Huh." Vanitas scoffed mockingly, looking down at his captured prey. "If it isn't _Ventus. _Good to see you again…after all these years_._" He smirked, advancing a little closer to the latter so that their faces were just inches apart.

At that moment, Ven glared at the raven. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

Suddenly, the other burst out into sardonic laughter, stepping back slightly. But then he stopped and narrowed his eyes at the blonde, his mouth twisting into a frown.

"Who am _I?_" Vanitas began in a dangerous tone. In an instant, he grabbed Ventus by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close so that his cold breath ghosted upon the other's neck.

The blonde shivered under his grasp.

The raven's eyes grew intent. "_I _think _you _should remember very soon." With that, he pressed his rigid hand roughly against Ven's chest.

In that instant, the young doctor cried out in pain, his ocean blue eyes bulging.

"Gahh…!"

~xXx~

At the same time, a faint memory grew vivid in his head.

Of himself waking up one time from what almost seemed like eternal sleep…only to see that he was lying in a hospital bed.

And afterwards, he'd caught a glimpse of the patient in the other room being rolled away by a pair of nurses—staring at him.

The one the doctor had claimed saved his life through his own body…a fair complexion with mussy, coal-black hair—and—

Piercing gold eyes…

~xXx~

Ventus shuddered and gasped, his face frozen. "Van…"

The raven's mouth twisted into a devious grin. "So you _do _remember, idiot."

The blonde swallowed, then looked back at Vanitas with wide eyes. "Van…I…"

The latter frowned, pulling up his sleeves to reveal severely bloodstained arms. "You took _everything _from me that day, Ventus—not just my bone marrow or my organs. You're why I was put to the side and shunned as a monster in this world. And yet…you couldn't even bother to recognize me as a brother."

Ven bit his lip at the sight. "It wasn't my fault. I didn't know what happened…but I if I did, of course I would have—"

Vanitas growled. "Well, you _should_ have!" He shoved the blonde to the floor.

The young doctor cried out.

The raven exhaled sharply. "Too little, too late. You should have known…how much pain I had to go through all my life—being all _alone!_"

At that moment, he grabbed Ven by the very top of his head and smiled…sinisterly.

"Huh—but it's all too late now."

Ventus winced, his voice now in a choked whisper. "I'm sorry…"

But Vanitas only frowned at him. "Those words won't help you now."

With that, he chuckled darkly and stepped back into the shadows. "Because now you're gonna taste the same medicine I did back then…_ten-fold._"

The blonde held his breath.

The raven smirked. "Heh. All starting with the ones you love."

In that instant, he dragged a weak and dazed Aqua from the darkness and took out a switchblade from his pocket, putting it right above her neck.

"Aqua!" Ven cried out, breaking free from Braig's hold. He clenched his fists and his teeth. "Van, please! Don't do it!"

Vanitas merely sighed, hovering the knife closer to the bluebird's throat.

Ventus's eyes widened. "No—"

At that moment, he gasped. All of a sudden, his chest began to tighten up, as if something were eating away at his heart. He fell to the floor, pools of sapphire bulging and his mouth open.

Something was very wrong…

_What's happening…I can't breathe again…my heart—_

~o~

Upon seeing this, the raven froze, his mouth hanging with surprise.

In that instant, Aqua came to her senses and tiredly opened her eyes, only to see that her blonde friend had collapsed face down.

She stiffened, immediately elbowing Vanitas and pulling away, sprinting over to Ventus's side.

"Ven…Ven!"

The blue-haired woman glared at the raven. "You freak! What did you do to him!"

But the dark-haired young man only backed away, still shocked by what he was seeing. "No...this can't be…"

At that moment, he darted off, running out the front door. "Braig! We're leaving!"

Without hesitation, the scarred man followed after him.

Aqua swallowed, watching the two make their escape, then sighed under her breath. "Forget them for now." With that, she turned to see that poor Ventus was unconscious.

The actress stiffened, immediately grabbing his wrist to feel no pulse. She bit her lip, her eyes frantically darting around in different directions.

"HELP! Someone please help us!" she cried desperately.

But no one was around to hear her pleas for help.

Aqua acted as quickly as she could, and got up, looking around until she came across a phone.

In less than a minute, the blue-haired female dialed 911 for an ambulance.

~o~

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

"Ven…" Aqua muttered softly, taking the blonde's hand and holding it gingerly.

"His heart is dying. He will not last for much longer, for he will have three weeks at best."

At that moment, she stiffened and gulped. "Master Yen Sid…"

The elderly man behind her closed his eyes and sighed. "Our only hope now…is a willing donor—if there is one whose blood type matches his and arrives in time."

The blue-haired female bit her lip and let out a sob, reaching out her hand to stroke her dear friend's hair.

_Terra…where are you? Hopefully you're doing all right…Ven needs you now more than ever._

She gulped and spoke in a forced but hushed, reassuring voice.

"Stay strong, Ven…Terra will be back before you know it."

In that instant, Aqua thought she'd felt Ventus give her hand a slight squeeze.

Her eyes softened.

_I know he's not the same blood type as you, and of course I wouldn't stand to lose him, either. But if he comes back soon…at least you'll be able to see each other one last time. _

Meanwhile, staring through the window behind both Aqua and Yen Sid, a bushy-haired raven with gold eyes could be seen, his countenance rigid.

~o~

_Ring._

_._

_._

_Ring._

_._

_._

_Ring._

_._

_._

_Beep._

_We're sorry, you have called the following number…_

Click.

Terra sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. "Where are you?"

"Trying to call home?"

The brunette stiffened, then put his hand down to see a younger raven with blue eyes standing in front of him with a happy-go-lucky grin on his face.

At first glance, one could tell it was none other than Zack Fair…

Terra grunted, slowly shaking his head. "No—just trying to contact a friend of mine. I promised I'd call him back to see if everything's all right."

At that moment, Zack nodded. "Uh-huh. I see…" With that, he reached over for something until the brunette saw that he had a phone in his hand as well.

The raven smiled. "Don't worry—I can relate to you somehow." He chuckled, holding up a small piece of paper that seemed to have a bunch of numbers on it.

But on the other side, Terra could see a picture of a smiling young woman with emerald green eyes and long, braided light-brown hair dressed in pink.

He scrutinized his gaze on the photo, then spoke. "Is she your girlfriend?"

At this, Zack put the dialing phone to his ear and turned over the piece of paper to see the grinning, beautiful female. "Yup," he replied proudly. "And she's waiting for me back home."

His eyes softened. "It's a good thing our _second _hidden base has reception."

Suddenly, the raven heard a click on the other line.

"_Hello?"_

At that moment, the blue-eyed young man briefly held his hand up at the brunette, then turned to speak to his lover.

"Hey, Aerith (*Aeris)—it's Zack. How's the baby?"

From that point on, Terra couldn't help but smile as he watched his acquaintance's face light up gradually. But at the same time, he began to think about his own two best friends.

_Ven…Aqua…_

~o~

_(1 week later)_

_Beep._

_Beep._

Vanitas watched as the green line on the small black screen wavered up and down each second. Then he shifted his gaze towards the sleeping blonde that lay on the hospital bed.

"_Van, please! Don't do it!"_

"_I'm sorry…"_

He winced. _How…_how_ did I not know…that you were sharing my fate from the very beginning?_

_Beep._

_Beep._

The raven clenched his teeth and his fists, closing his eyes. Then he spoke in a low voice.

"So sleep has taken you yet again."

Once more, the memory of the small, _beautiful_ blonde-haired boy he'd despised so many years ago returned to his mind.

…_I'm such a fool…_

Vanitas clenched his teeth.

_Damn it, Ventus…why is it that even in the end I can't dare to hurt you myself?_

He glared at the blonde and exhaled sharply. _In fact, in the end, I wasn't able to _help _you out, either…which means I no longer need to exist. There's no reason for me to follow you around any longer._

Vanitas bit his lip. _It all ends here now, I guess… _His eyes softened.

…_brother._

With that, the raven held his breath and quickly reached over to flick a switch near the monitor, which immediately caused the machines to blare to life.

In an instant, Aqua had appeared in the threshold, breathing heavily after coming from down the hallway. "Ven!"

Soon, her eyes darted over to the golden-eyed young man leaving the room. "You!"

At that moment, Vanitas stopped in the middle of the hallway, without looking back, and spoke in a dull tone. "I only did that to get their attention. The doctors will be here any minute."

"LIAR!" The blue-haired woman growled. "Why do such a thing right now? Why return here all of a sudden when I could have you arrested? Haven't you done enough to hurt Ven already? …or have you finally got the nerve to actually kill him?"

In response, the raven turned around and glared at the actress, narrowing his eyes. "My goal after all these years was to only make Ventus _suffer, _not _kill _him. I am not that cold-hearted, bluebird—which is why I'm never coming back anyway. Think of this as a final favor to your friend."

Aqua frowned. "Final favor? What do you mean?"

Vanitas exhaled sharply, then turned to continue walking down the hallway. "You'll find out soon." With that, he paused for a second. "Oh, right. One more thing—if you know what's good for you, don't follow me…and don't tell Ventus _anything _of what I'm about to do."

Before the blue-haired female could ask why or make any more comments, he had already disappeared from sight and the doctors had already scrambled into Ven's room.

…_what did he mean by that?_

~o~

Out on an almost vacant local road, a black Viper could be seen speeding along the pavement at about 180 miles per hour. In the driver's seat sat a shadowy figure with gold eyes, a fair complexion, and bushy-black hair.

And in less than a second, the car veered off the road, crashing right into a nearby tree.

BANG.

_Only for _you_…Ventus._

~o~

A few hours later, the mangled body of that car's driver was rushed to the hospital and later on declared brain dead—never to wake up.

However, it seemed that the raven was a potential organ donor, and the news was passed on to Master Yen Sid, who was surprised to see who the actual person was.

"Vanitas…"

In addition, the young man's blood type…matched exactly with Ven's—and more so…his heart was still in good shape.

Later on after the operation was complete, Aqua finally understood Vanitas's final words to her.

But Ven…would never know.

~o~

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Master Yen Sid…how is he now?" the blue-haired female asked with sad eyes.

The elderly man sighed. "In sheer luck, Ventus's body has accepted the new heart with ease. Vanitas was noble to have made such a sacrifice, even when all he had felt for the world in the end was resentment." He closed his eyes. "Maybe…there really was a soft spot in that rigid heart of his after all."

Aqua closed her eyes.

"_Don't tell Ventus _anything_ of what I'm about to do."_

The actress pursed her lips and swallowed. "…does that mean…Ven will be all right now?"

Dead silence.

Then Yen Sid slowly shook his head with a pained countenance. "I'm afraid…it is still not enough to save the boy."

Aqua winced upon hearing those words and clutched the blonde's hand. "Why? Didn't you just say the new heart's okay?"

"Yes." He paused for a moment. "But there is another problem—one that cannot be fixed in any way."

The bluebird held her breath.

The elderly man spoke solemnly. "It has already appeared the rest of Ventus's vital organs have begun to fail as well, and his body has begun to deteriorate from the inside." He closed his eyes. "…it is only a matter of time before…before it comes to a point that he will no longer wake."

In that instant, a lump had begun to form inside Aqua's throat. She had covered her mouth with her other hand, tears beginning to stream down her two cheeks.

"No…"

_Where are you when I need you?_

~o~


	5. Chapter 5: Simple and Clean

**Dearly Beloved**

_**Chapter 5: Simple and Clean**_

~o~

_(Another week later)_

Late on a Saturday evening, Aqua had taken a seat outside in the hallway to get some rest for the time being.

She sat down on a vacant chair and buried her face in her hands, taking a deep breath.

Silence.

But that was when she began to hear a vibrating sound from her purse.

~o~

_Ring._

_._

_._

_Ring._

_._

_._

_Click._

"…_Hello?"_

"Aqua?"

Pause.

.

.

"_Oh…it's you." _Sigh.

"Aqua…"

Silence.

.

.

Terra sighed. "Never mind this. Have you heard from Ven lately? I've been trying to contact him for more than a week now."

No response.

"…Aqua—come on, I'm serious."

Suddenly, a choked sob could be heard from the other line.

The brunette's eyes widened. "Hey—are you okay?"

Sniffle. _"I'm fine."_

.

.

"…no—you're not. What's wrong?"

Silence.

.

.

.

Finally, Aqua brought herself to speak again.

"_Terra…"_

"…"

"…_haven't you heard what's happened in the past couple of weeks? I thought for sure Yen Sid would have at least told you…"_

In that instant, Terra's face grew rigid. "About what? Tell me what happened."

His eyes softened when he'd heard another sniffle on the other line.

.

.

"_Terra…Ven's been sent to the emergency room. He collapsed _again._"_

At that moment, the brunette held his breath as he noticed the serious tone in the other's voice and remembered immediately the incident that had already occurred in the past.

"…is he all right?"

Pause.

"_No…he's dying. Of the same disease his mother died of when he was little. It's all terminal, and it's a lot worse than before…Master said he won't last for much longer…"_

Her voice faltered.

Terra's eyes widened.

Another sob.

"Aqua—"

"_Just…don't bother with me, okay? All I can say now on Ven's behalf is that he needs you now more than he ever has. If you _ever_ cared for him at any point in time…" _Sigh. _"Whatever. I'll leave it up to you, Terra."_

_Click._

Click.

.

.

~o~

The brunette hung up, and laid back in his seat, putting his hand over his forehead.

…_Ven…_

He bit his lip, glancing down to look at the orange Wayfinder he'd just pulled out of his pocket.

_How am I supposed to protect you now?_

At that moment, a memory had flashed through his mind.

"_No matter what it takes, since I couldn't stand to lose either of you."_

~xXx~

Young Terra had sighed, then turned to face his best friend. _"What are you gonna be when you grow up, Ven?"_

The little blonde had smiled and spoken with ease. _"I'm gonna be a doctor, of course!"_

The brunette chuckled. _"Is that so?"_

"_Yup!" _Ventus replied proudly.

With that, Terra raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. _"Now why would you wanna pick something that big? You'll always have to work since _everyone _gets sick."_

Suddenly, the blonde's face grew solemn and he lowered his head. _"Yeah…I know." _He paused for a minute, then sighed. _"But the thing is…I wanna help other people, too."_

The older boy listened patiently.

Ven frowned. _"I mean…my mommy died because she was sick." _He winced slightly. _"And now Master Eraqus is sick, too…"_

At that moment, young Ventus looked into icy blue eyes. _"When I grow up, I'm gonna take care of everyone so that they don't get sick anymore. And you and Aqua will always be at the top of my list if you ever need any me-ni-cine or whatever that stuff's called, because I don't want you two to get sick, eye-ther." _

He giggled. _"I'm gonna protect my friends, too!"_

~xXx~

Terra sighed as those last few words rang through his ears.

_Oh, Ven…what's the point of taking care of other people…when you can't even help yourself in the end?_

He clenched his teeth and leaned forward, burying his face in his hands.

_Now, of all times…why did this have to happen to __**you?**_

The brunette exhaled sharply. _Is this…what you were trying to tell me before?_

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Zack again, this time with a solemn expression on his face.

And this was a bit unexpected for Terra, for that countenance didn't fit the carefree raven he'd usually see around.

But that wasn't until he'd heard the very words that came from the latter's mouth.

"Go—I'll cover for you. I can take care of it from here."

With that, Zack smiled kindly and held out his hand.

Soon, the brunette brought himself to grin back as well and took the raven's hand.

~o~

It took a lot of time, courage, determination, and _persuasive skills_ for Terra to return back to his hometown, but just enough to see his best friend one last time.

Aqua was the first person he'd seen when he'd rushed into the hospital.

"_Where_ is he?"

~o~

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

"He's asleep right now, but he should wake up any minute," the bluebird spoke in a hushed tone, as the two of them looked through the window to the blonde's room.

The brunette nodded once, then turned to enter the room.

But before he stepped past the threshold, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

Terra paused, then turned to see a solemn Yen Sid.

The elderly man closed his eyes. "I'm afraid to say that at this point, the boy doesn't have much longer. Take as much time as you need with him."

The brunette sighed and bowed his head slightly. "I understand, Master."

With that, he set foot into the room, where he could better see Ventus lying on the hospital bed—the latter's calm face so breathtaking to him…

Terra winced, then approached him—kneeling down at his bedside and gently taking the blonde's hand.

"…Ven?"

For a moment, the latter stirred, then spoke in a hushed whisper. "Terra…is that you?"

Soon, he slowly opened his eyes to reveal two pools of sapphire. And the minute he did, his heart almost skipped a beat upon seeing his brown-haired friend beside him.

In that instant, the younger male couldn't help but smile—for the first time in a very long while.

"I knew you'd… come back someday."

At that point, the brunette could have sworn some part of his heart had melted. He slightly grinned back and lightly placed his hand on top of the other's head.

"See? Told you I'd keep my promise. I'm here now…" he spoke softly, calmly stroking his best friend's hair. "…and I'm not going anywhere else."

At this, Ventus chuckled quietly and gave the other's hand a brief squeeze.

But then…his face grew somber—and Terra had noticed this immediately.

"Ven? Is something wrong?"

There was a long pause.

Then the blonde looked into the latter's eyes. "Terra…can I ask you to do me…one last favor?"

At that moment, the brunette's eyes softened. "Sure, Ven. Anything."

Another few minutes of dead silence.

And that was when Ventus had spoken again in an unwavering tone. "If I…fall asleep all of a sudden and I don't wake up…or if my heart doesn't beat anymore…"

He winced, then glanced over at the monitors beside him. "I'm asking you, as a friend." He swallowed. "Just…put an end to me."

In an instant, both Aqua's and Terra's hearts had broken into two.

The brunette closed his eyes and put the blonde's hand over his forehead, a lump forming in his throat.

"Oh, Ven…this is all my fault," he spoke in a choked whisper. "Instead of just focusing on how to keep you safe, I should have considered your condition first…I should have _listened_…"

At the same time, tears began to fall down Aqua's cheeks from the other side of the window.

Terra fought back a sob and shuddered.

Ventus's eyes softened, and he comfortingly put his hand over the latter's back.

"It's okay…don't blame yourself—it's _my _fault."

"No," the brunette replied, shaking his head. "No, it's not." His grip tightened slightly on the blonde's hand. "I was the one who asked you to stay strong for me…but in the end, _I _failed _you _because now I can't even save you anyway…" His voice faltered. "I'm such an idiot…"

The blonde frowned, his eyes filled with warmth. "Hey…" he began softly.

Then the younger male smiled weakly. "Look at me."

With that, Terra let out a sigh and took a deep breath before slowly raising his head to gaze into innocent eyes of azure.

That was when Ven had lowered his gaze and spoke in a hushed tone. "Somebody once told me… that even in the deepest darkness…there will _always_ be a light to guide you."

In that instant, the older man's eyes widened.

Ventus smiled, taking the other's hand and placing it on the very middle of his chest. He chuckled, looking into icy blue pupils. "Our hearts are connected—no matter where we'll all be in the future." His eyes softened. "Even after my own heart stops beating…one way or another, we'll end up finding our way back to each other again. Because…because we're friends forever."

At that moment, he began to think of the two young toddlers he'd met not long ago on that sandy shore.

Then his face lit up, probably for the last time. "If you just believe in that light, we'll always be together no matter what."

The blonde paused, putting his hand over the other's heart. "…in _here._"

The brunette's heart melted as soon as he'd heard those very words, looking down at his friend's palm on his chest and at the same time feeling the heartbeat that had slowly begun to fade within the other.

Soon, the older male wrapped his arms around Ventus, cradling him close. "Ven…"

The younger one closed his eyes and grinned to the slightest, leaning his head over the other's shoulder.

"After all this time…I think I finally understand what you meant before." He paused, taking a deep breath. "And now…now I know how to say those words…those words I just never got a chance to tell you before—and that I've been meaning to say…from the very beginning."

In that instant, Terra's eyes widened as the blonde slowly pulled away from him, just enough so their faces were just inches apart from each other.

Pools of sapphire sparkled at that very moment when Ventus had raised his hand to caress his best friend's cheek.

And as soon as he did…the two had moved forward, as if there were some special force between them, and found their lips softly molded against each other.

The brunette sighed, closing his eyes.

Then after a while, the younger male had pulled back slightly to whisper into his best friend—no—his _soul mate's _ear.

"I _love_ you, Terra…_so_ _much_…"

In that instant, the brunette's heart grew light and again, he had gently pressed his lips against the latter's. Then he exhaled, his cool breath on the other's neck, and placed his chin over the blonde's head.

At the same time, tears had begun to form under his own eyelids, and Terra whispered back in a choked but hushed tone. "I love you, too, Ven. I've _always_ loved you—more than anything this world's ever offered…"

At that moment, Ventus let out a small sigh and smiled.

But then…he began to feel as faint as his heartbeat was now, and he could feel everything begin to slip away, his eyes closing.

The brunette stiffened, then pulled back to support the younger male's head, his forehead against the other's.

Icy blue eyes were filled with concern. "Ven…! Ven, stay with me…"

The blonde moaned softly, then opened his eyes, now dull. He swallowed, then put his hand over the other's cheek again and spoke in a weak voice. "Terra…stay strong…"

Terra took a deep breath and held the latter's hand against his cheek, closing his eyes. "Always…"

Tears started to fall down his cheeks.

A tiny smile appeared on the younger male's face, and he shifted his gaze to look at his soul mate…one last time.

Then his eyelids began to fall slowly, and Ven exhaled.

"And never…forget…"

Soon, the brunette opened his eyes, noticing the other's hand become limp. And then he had shifted his gaze…to see his best friend's eyes closed, a bright green Wayfinder in his hand.

In that instant, the older one held his breath, staring at the younger blonde in his arms. Then he shook him slightly.

"Ven?"

No response.

Terra bit his lip, turning to glance over at the black monitor beside them—only to see the bright green line begin to falter…and falter…

Then he had remembered his friend's final request and winced.

"_I'm asking you as a friend…"_

The brunette gulped and looked behind him to see Aqua literally torn to pieces on the inside.

She looked back at him with grief-stricken eyes, then closed them, slowly shaking her head with hot tears rolling down her cheeks, her hand covering her mouth.

Yen Sid comfortingly put his hand on her shoulder and nodded once to Terra.

The icy blue-eyed man glanced back at the blonde with pained eyes, his countenance now serene.

"_Just…put an end to me."_

The brunette clenched his teeth, more tears falling down either side of his face. "Ven…"

He hung his head and closed his eyes, then reached over to turn off the machines that had kept his friend's body functioning for the moment.

_BEEP._

~o~

_(Valentine's Day)_

"Terra?"

The funeral was over. Everyone had already left, except for two.

The brunette was one of them, and he had just been about to leave until he turned around to see his blue-haired friend looking at him with pained eyes.

Aqua paused, then lowered her gaze. "Are you…gonna be all right?"

Terra was silent for a moment, then turned away and spoke in a dull tone.

"Yeah."

With that, he stepped forward to leave, but not after the female spoke again.

"Wait."

The brunette stopped in his tracks, then glanced back at the bluebird.

Aqua winced and put her right hand over her left shoulder. "…what are you gonna do now?"

She paused for a brief moment. "…are you going to go back to finish the war, now that everything's…" Her voice faltered. "…over?"

Terra stiffened, then spoke in an unwavering tone. "The war _is _over."

The actress looked up at the latter.

The icy blue-eyed male let out a sigh. "It's been over, actually. My partner, who covered for me while I was gone, was able to manage, and so we still won by a long shot. I got word from him the other day." He paused, pursing his lips. "…but either way, I'm not going back, since there's just no point to it anymore."

He peered into the distance. "Like I told Ven, I'm not going anywhere. All I'm doing now…is just giving myself time to think." Terra glanced over his shoulder. "…you should move on as well. It's…it's what _he_ would have wanted, anyway."

With that, the brunette left his friend alone in the clearing and disappeared into the trees.

Aqua let out a sigh, closing her eyes and hanging her head. Then she reached deep into her pocket to pull out a bright blue star charm in her hand.

Her eyes softened. _Why did this have to happen?_

~o~

The birds chirped as Terra walked down a hidden road within a wooded area—and passed a few tall trees, beyond which he himself knew stood Robin's Nest Kindergarten and its playground, still open to this day.

After a while, the brunette stopped when he had reached a small clearing in the trees. Then he peered through the tiny aperture and smiled when he'd caught a glimpse of a swing set in the distance.

That very _same _one, indeed…

Terra chuckled to himself, then spoke softly. "Just as how we left it all those years ago...huh, Ven?"

He sighed, holding his hand up to look down at not one but _two _Wayfinders now—an orange one…and a bright green one.

~xXx~

"_So does that mean…we'll never forget each other, even when we're all grownups?"_

~xXx~

The brown-haired man's eyes softened as laughter and mental images of the past began to ring through his ears.

"_Come on, Terra!"_

In that instant, he couldn't help but chuckle again. Then he sighed.

"Huh…" he muttered.

Soon after that, the brunette turned to continue his way home down the path.

But that wasn't until he'd heard a rustle not far from where he was, and soon he'd heard someone crying near the bushes.

At that moment, Terra paused for a minute, then left to follow the commotion.

After a while, he'd come across another clearing behind the school—one that not even _he _or his friends knew of back then.

There was a bench back there this time, a small, bushy-haired boy with a tan complexion along with a somewhat older one with silver hair and sea green eyes sitting in the middle.

…and it seemed that it had been the younger brunette he had heard sobbing, the silver trying to comfort him as best he could.

And he winced, speaking to his hurt friend in a hushed tone. "Sora…"

~o~

_(Terra 1st Person POV)_

The younger one had sniffled, opening his eyes…to reveal pools of graceful sapphire.

At that moment, my heart grew soft, because all of a sudden I began to see my best friend in him.

That same innocent—no—_puppy-dog _look on their faces…that oddly similar hair arrangement…

Then I shifted my gaze towards the green-eyed boy, who come to think of it, actually reminded me a lot of myself when I was younger…haha.

I smirked a little.

_Funny how Ven and I used to be like that back then…_

Soon, after a while, I saw both of them smile at each other, and I saw the brown-haired one give the other kid some sort of parcel or something. At first, I wasn't sure what it really was, but wow, it was tiny.

It was really amusing, too, to watch the silver's face light up just as soon as he'd opened the box and took out something small and shiny.

"Wow!"

At that moment, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

But that was when I'd realized…that it was Valentine's Day.

I stiffened and looked back at the two kids, only to see them hold one of their hands up, a little red pin in each. I noticed now that the pins had been halves of a heart split down the middle.

And then…I watched them slowly moved their hands closer to each other…until both complementary pieces fit together to form a full heart, the sun's light reflecting off of it.

_Best friends, _their pins now read in glistening silver.

With that, my eyes softened at the sight. _How cute._

I smiled and looked up at the orangey pink sky, just as they were doing as well, happy grins on both their faces.

At that point, I began to picture _him _looking down at me from above those purple clouds, and I chuckled softly.

_Wow…do you miss me that much already, Ven?_

I sighed, then turned to leave.

But that wasn't until…I just heard a tiny but strong voice over from where the children were standing.

"See? Our hearts are connected."

In that instant, I could have sworn I stopped breathing for a minute. I paused, then gazed back at the boys, their hands still close together.

Soon, I noticed that it was the brunette who'd spoken those words—the one that looked so much like _him_…

His ocean blue eyes were distant now, obviously mesmerized by the purple clouds that floated above him.

I frowned, lowering my eyes. After that, I left as soon as I could because for some reason, I didn't want to hear any more.

It hurt too much…

~o~

As I made my way back towards the hidden path, memories of _him _began to flash through my mind.

~xXx~

"_I'm gonna protect my friends, too!"_

"_When I grow up, I'm gonna take care of everyone so that they don't get sick anymore. And you and Aqua will always be at the top of my list if you ever need any me-ni-cine or whatever that stuff's called, because I don't want you two to get sick, eye-ther."_

~X~

Laughter.

"_Can't catch me, Terra!"_

~X~

"_I miss you already…"_

"_Terra…we're best friends, right?"_

~X~

"_I love you, Terra…so much…"_

~xXx~

At that moment, I closed my eyes and stopped where I was, his words echoing in my head.

"_Even in the deepest darkness…there will always be a light to guide you."_

"…"

"_After all this time…I think I finally understand what you meant before." _

A breeze of wind blew by.

"_Our hearts are connected—no matter where we'll all be in the future."_

Silence.

"_Even after my own heart stops beating…one way or another, we'll end up finding our way back to each other again. Because…because we're friends forever. If you just believe in that light, we'll always be together no matter what…in here."_

In that instant, I placed my hand over my heart and clutched my chest.

"_Terra…stay strong…and never forget…"_

I let out a sigh and hung my head. I could still feel our Wayfinders in my hand.

Then I opened my eyes just a little bit, to glance down upon green with orange.

Laughter began to ring through my ears again.

And soon…it had subsided.

I looked longingly at the those two star charms, the very symbols of our friendship that had never failed once to bring all of us together at some point in time.

_Flap._

I glanced towards the trees to see two birds fly away from the branches—together.

Then I raised my head to gaze up at the evening sky and winced.

_Ven…_

Once again, I felt my fingers clawing at the middle of my chest—the emptiness that was inside it.

…_wait for me._

In that instant, it was as if the earth stood still for a moment.

And then…

"_BEEP!"_

Suddenly, I heard a loud, blaring noise that sounded just like the horn of a truck, and so I turned…only to hear brakes screeching and to feel a sharp jolt of searing pain through my body.

_CRASH._

Before I knew it, I was lying on the pavement, everything hurting all over—so much that I couldn't even _move_.

I groaned. I'd never felt anything this excruciating before…

That was when I began to see a white light begin to appear above me, and all of a sudden, my mind started to slip away…my body going numb.

But the light I was seeing at that moment…it wasn't like anything I'd ever seen before.

It was _growing—_engulfing me in it—and soon, the pain had ebbed away, my heart filled with nothing but such _familiar_ warmth…

I wondered what it was.

Then something had caught my eye—a slim figure with short, wavy blonde hair in the distance…

"_Terra."_

And at that point, I knew what had happened…

"_Let's go."_

I smiled and let the light surround me, bringing me closer to the one I loved, his glimmering ocean blue eyes coming into view. _Ven…_

_Our hearts are connected._

~o~

**Notes from the KIT-chan~**

…this is not the end. -.-

.::.*~Kitsune*~.::.


	6. Chapter 6: Blank Points

**Dearly Beloved**

_**Chapter 6: Blank Points**_

**Notes from the KIT-chan~**

Where the pieces all fall together now. (if you've read **"Friendship"**)

Enjoy~ =^w^=

.::.*~Kitsune~*.::.

~o~

_(12 Years Later at Robin's Nest Kindergarten…)_

"I'm in your heart again, aren't I, Riku?"

Riku was speechless and could only stare at the blue-eyed brunette standing in front of him.

Sora smiled. "Do you want me to get out? I—"

Suddenly, he was startled to feel his silver-haired friend, hugging him tightly.

Sora softened his countenance and hugged him back.

Riku leaned his head against the brunette's, near his tan ear.

"_Never_. You're staying in my heart…whether you like it or not." he spoke with a grin.

Sora laughed. "Is that so?"

Riku looked fervently into the latter's cerulean eyes and nodded.

The brunette laughed and hugged the silver again. "Okay…then I will."

Riku paused and took something small and shiny out of his pocket.

_That same pin…_

Sora's eyes widened. Then, he took his out of his pocket as well.

Riku took the brunette's hand and slowly brought the pieces together…one more time.

The blue-eyed teenager gazed softly at the full heart.

The silver smiled and looked into Sora's eyes.

The brunette looked back.

Then his own real heart grew soft as he remembered…the very person who gave him that exact idea back then in the first place.

The blonde-haired stranger he'd met on the beach when he was little…and later found out to have died not long after that, along with the one he had mentioned before as his own best friend.

The words that had forever changed his life still ran through his very mind and soul.

~xXx~

"…_an unbreakable connection between you and your friends—as long as you carry it with you, nothing can ever drive you apart because you'll always find your way back to each other._

"_If the two of you really are best friends, then that means both your hearts are connected to each other."_

"_You never forget your true friends after all. That's why you'll always be together forever…"_

~xXx~

At this, Sora pondered for a moment, briefly lowering his eyes. Then he spoke in a hushed tone.

"Hey, Riku…"

The silver turned to face the brunette. "…yeah?"

The latter continued, looking up at his green-eyed friend. "…we're best buds, right?"

Riku's eyes widened at the unexpected question, then nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

Sora paused again for a minute. Then, he asked another question. "…and we'll always be together…right?" The brunette now had a solemn expression on his face.

The silver gazed softly at the brunette, then looked at the evening sky. "…yes." He turned to his blue-eyed friend. "And do you want to know why?"

Sora looked confused for a moment. "…why?"

Riku smiled and shifted his eyes back to the brunette. "Because…" He lifted both their hands up, each still holding a pin.

Sora's eyes widened.

"…our hearts are connected."

The two grinned and looked back at the orangey pink sky.

~o~

_(Aqua 1st Person POV)_

_It's late now—I really should be getting home…_

I sighed, and looked around the classroom to see if I had forgotten anything else.

Everything was neat and tidy now that all the kids had gone home for the day.

With that, I nodded to myself, turning to pick up my purse from my desk, and walked out the front door with my keys in hand, ready to lock the place up.

But as soon as I stepped outside, I found myself looking at two teenage boys just hanging around in the children's playground—on the blacktop where someone had drawn a bunch of hearts with chalk.

And it surprised me a bit to see them both so close together like that, just looking up at the afternoon sky.

Haha…it kind of reminded two others I used to know.

My eyes softened for a moment.

Especially the happy-go-lucky one with short brown hair and glimmering blue eyes…definitely the spitting image of Ven. As for the tall silver standing next to him…the sincere expression face made him look just like Terra back then.

I chuckled quietly to myself as I turned to make my way back home. _Some things can go for quite a while in this world…_

I reached into my pocket, pulling out a shiny blue Wayfinder and holding it gingerly in the palm of my hand. Then I smiled, looking out at the sinking sun in the distant horizon.

_Right…you guys?_

_The three of us will always be one._

~o~

Later that evening, Riku and Sora decided to hang out at the beach for a while, to kill any remaining time they had left of their day.

And yes—it was the very same sandy shore that the two of them used to play on back then when they were just toddlers…

~o~

"Sora!"

The brunette stiffened, turning to see his green-eyed friend walking towards him with a Popsicle in each hand.

Riku grinned, giving one to the latter. "Here you go."

Sora nodded once, eagerly taking the dessert from the other. But then he raised an eyebrow to see that this Popsicle was indeed, light blue—different from any ice cream he'd ever had before.

"Hm…" he began, scrutinizing his gaze on the frozen treat. "Riku—is this a new flavor?"

"You bet it is," the silver replied, reaching into his pocket for a second. "Don't ask, though—they told me to try it. It's supposed to be _sea-salt ice cream_ or something…"

He trailed off and frowned when he soon found his pocket to be empty. "Aw, great—I forgot to get my change from the guy at the stand." Riku exhaled sharply and turned to run back.

"I'll be right back, okay?" he called, briefly glancing over his shoulder.

The brunette sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Then he turned to gaze at the great yellow-orange ball of light that slowly began to disappear behind dark blue waves.

His eyes softened. _Just like how it was that day…_

Sora smiled slightly and reached into his right pocket to pull out a pair of star-shaped charms—one bright green…and the other orange.

~xXx~

"_Riku, come on! I heard it coming from around here!"_

The young brunette panted as he sprinted through the trees, until he found himself standing at the edge of a paved road that he'd never seen before.

_What the…_

Little Sora frowned and looked all around him, only to have something catch his eye.

Lying on the ground not far away, he thought he saw a pair of star-shaped objects that to him, looked so _familiar.._.

At this, the toddler immediately rushed over and bent down to see that they were charms of some sort. One of them had been orange, while the other had been…

His eyes widened in that instant.

Green…

At that moment, the brunette gulped, taking both Wayfinders in his hands. Then he stood up after recognizing the very objects in his hands, as well as remembering their owners.

But that was when he stiffened—after seeing what looked like a great big truck crumpled up against a tree no more than a few feet from where he was.

Sora gasped, then frantically began to shift his gaze in different directions, looking for his old friend.

"_Ven?"_ the little one called out in a scared tone, his eyes darting all over the place.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to see that his silver-haired friend had finally caught up with him.

But his eyes were big, and his face was rigid upon seeing the banged-up truck in front of them.

In that instant, the younger toddler looked anxiously at the latter, and spoke in a tiny voice.

"_Riku…what happened here?"_

However, the green-eyed boy didn't answer. Instead, he took Sora's hand and began to lead him away from the truck—back in the direction of Robin's Nest Kindergarten.

"_We shouldn't be in this place—it's too dangerous. We might get in trouble."_

After that, the brunette hadn't said another word, for this was all too confusing for his small mind to take in…

Although later on, he would find out for himself after overhearing his classmates' conversations at school the next day.

~xXx~

At that moment, Sora flinched when suddenly he'd heard a splash somewhere beside him.

He paused, then turned to see a blonde male about his age with wavy hair and—sparkling eyes of _azure_…

Immediately, the brunette's eyes widened. No way—he looked _just _like…

"Your ice cream's melting."

In that instant, Sora's train of thought broke. "Huh?" He shook his head, then glanced at his popsicle, which had already begun dripping down to his fingers.

The tan boy shrank back and stuck out his tongue to lick the stick blue stuff off. Then he shifted his gaze to see that the blonde was chuckling and that he was holding a blue Popsicle as well.

"Haha—tastes good, doesn't it? It's actually my new favorite flavor now—I always get it every time I come here these days."

The brunette thought for a minute and smacked his lips. "Yeah…it tastes really good." He looked at the frozen treat. "And it's amazing, too—it's salty _and _sweet at the same time."

The other grinned. "That's why they call it _sea-salt ice cream._"

Both laughed.

Soon, it became quiet again, and the blonde turned to pick up another pebble from the ground.

"What's your name?"

At that moment, the brunette froze, then replied in a low tone. "Sora."

_Is it just me, or is this déjà vu…?_

"What's yours?"

The latter paused, then tossed the pebble across the surface of the ocean. "Roxas."

Sora nodded, watching the small rock skid until it sank underwater. Then he spoke again, trying to start a casual conversation for the time being. "So…are you waiting for someone?"

"Yeah," Roxas replied, taking a bite of his ice cream. "I'm actually waiting for my friend to get off from his summer job. He's supposed to meet me here soon." He paused, glancing at the tan boy. "You?"

The brunette smirked. "Ha. I'm waiting for a friend, too—except he's just getting his change back from the guy at the ice cream stand."

At that moment, the blonde chuckled. "I see…"

At the same time, Sora laughed as well, turning to see the warm smile on the other's face—which reminded him…

The sound of the waves resonated in his ears in that instant, and he glanced back at the Wayfinders in his hands.

His eyes softened that time, upon looking at how precious the two of them had once been…and then the brunette lowered his hands—until the star charms were floating on the water's surface.

…_I guess your best friend came back after all, huh? Now you'll always be together…_

Not long after that, the ocean's currents had begun to sweep them both away into the far distance—with Sora and now Roxas, who had just stopped laughing, looking after them.

As soon as the Wayfinders were just about to disappear from sight, the blonde and the brunette looked into each other's eyes, blue locked on blue.

And both began to think to themselves at the same time…

"_A scattered dream that's like a far-off memory..."_

"_A far-off memory that's like a scattered dream…"_

"_I want to line the pieces up..."_

"_Yours and mine."_

~o~

**Notes from the KIT-chan~**

Phew…finally done. XD Hope you all enjoyed this fic. ^~^ Sorry if you didn't like monster oneshots—I just made this one long at first because most of my reviewers told me that that they preferred big oneshot stories over twoshots. ^_^"; But now I've gotten some feedback that they'd prefer this one in multi-chapter form~ XD Thanks again, guys. ^w^

Anyways, I'll try to keep this short with some points to make about the story to cover any holes (or most of them) that weren't already covered from **Friendship**. X"D

~Robin's Nest _does _exist, but as a day care here in NJ. I know this because my parents sent me there all the time when I was little and when _both _of them were working. XD Good times. ^_^

~The enemy country Terra was talking about in the beginning is none in particular—just an imaginary/ideal/made-up one for the sake of the story. So NO—I'm not pointing fingers at any specific country whatsoever. ^^"

~Referring to _**My Sister's Keeper **_(if you've read it), Vanitas is to Anna as Ventus is to Anna's sister with leukemia. Ven's illness isn't cancer, but it is terminal.

~Ven and Terra really did reunite with each other in heaven, which is why it's a bittersweet ending. TTwTT

~Aqua eventually quit her job in New York and began teaching at Robin's Nest later on after Ms. Hazel (refer to **"Friendship"**) decided to move somewhere else.

~Obviously Roxas was waiting for Axel (he's got a summer job XD).

~Another sequel to this? I don't know—depends on how much feedback I get…and how much free time I'll have in the future. ^^"

With that being said…ja ne and please review~! =^w^=

.::.*~Kitsune~*.::.


End file.
